Lamine Diack, President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), presented the IAAF’s gold order of merit to President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China during his attendance at the opening ceremony of the World Athletics Championships hosted by Beijing. The Chinese president made a point of shaking hands with the IAAF president and his four vice-presidents, HE Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, Sergey Bubka, Hamad Kalkaba and Alberto Juantorena, along with all members of the elected IAAF Council, on the sidelines of the championships.
The IAAF order of merit is the federation’s highest honour, always awarded to presidents, kings and princes in recognition of their contribution to developing the sport of athletics by having their countries host the World Athletics Championships and honouring the event with their attendance, whether at its opening or its closing
