(ATR) Stanislav Pozdnyakov will succeed Alexander Zhukov as President of the Russian Olympic Committee.
Pozdnyakov secured a four year mandate by a 214-56 vote over Alexander Popov. Pozdnyakov had the support of all Russian sport federations except the Russian Shooting Union before the election.
The Russian Olympic Assembly convened for the vote in Moscow, after Zhukov said he would not seek re-election to the post. Zhukov is expected to join the Russian government following the election. As a result of stepping down Zhukov did not retain his IOC membership, which was contingent on him remaining president of the NOC.
"[Zhukov] informed the president that he had very much enjoyed working in the IOC, and he emphasized that both he and the Russian NOC had had to accept administrative responsibility for the systematic manipulation of the anti-doping system in Russia, even though in none of the reports there was any allegation of wrongdoing against either the ROC or himself," the IOC said in a statement before the election.
Russia is seeking to move past the ongoing doping scandal, which has ensnared sport in the country since 2015.
Currently the country remains non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping code, and its track and field federation is suspended by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The ROC was suspended by the IOC ahead of the PyeongChang Olympics, for the strategic manipulation of the anti-doping lab during the Sochi Games.
However, a large Russian delegation competed as neutral athletes in PyeongChang. The country was quickly reinstated by the IOC following the Games, despite having two athletes fail doping tests during competition.
In his final speech to the assembly before the election Pozdnyakov was quoted by RSport as saying the biggest challenge for the ROC was to "translate our relations with the IOC and international sports organizations into the realm of practical activities and projects".
Popov was subsequently elected to the ROC Executive Committee along with IOC Athletes Commission member Yelena Isinbayeva. Zhukov was elected as honorary president of the ROC and told RSport that it was possible Pozdynakov could eventually be elected to the IOC as well.
"Membership in the IOC is not automatically transferred to the new president of the ROC. In general, such a strong country in sporting terms, like Russia, should rightfully take a place in the IOC," Zhukov was quoted as saying.
Written by Aaron Bauer
For general comments or questions, click here .
25 Years at # 1: Your best source for news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com , for subscribers only.
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
