What does IAAF mean in Athletics?

IAAF

World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running. Included in its charge are the standardization of rules and regulations for the sports, certification of athletic facilities, recognition and management of world records, and the organisation and sanctioning of athletics competitions, including the World Athletics Championships. The organisation's president is Sebastian Coe of the United Kingdom, who was elected in 2015 and re-elected unopposed in 2019 for a further four years.World Athletics suspended the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) from World Athletics starting in 2015, for eight years, due to doping violations, making it ineligible to host World Athletics events or send teams to international championships. However, Russian athletes were eligible to compete pursuant to the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) process.In 2022, though, World Athletics imposed sanctions against the Member Federations of Russia and Belarus because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and all athletes, support personnel, and officials from Russia and Belarus were excluded from all World Athletics Series events for the foreseeable future, and Russian athletes who had received ANA status for 2022 were excluded from World Athletics Series events for the foreseeable future. World Athletics Council also applied sanctions on the Belarus Athletic Federation, including banning its hosting of any international or European athletics events, representation at Congress or in decisions which require Congressional votes, involvement of its personnel in programs, and accreditation to attend any World Athletics Series events.

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