The president of the Russian Olympic Committee has resigned

His resignation from its leadership Olympic Committee of Russia submitted by Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

The four-time Olympic fencing champion took over as president in 2018, but his term has been marked by Russia’s double rift with the international Olympic movement: first over accusations of state-sponsored dopingdue to which the country’s athletes competed as neutrals in the “Tokyo 2020” Olympic Games, held in 2021, and subsequently with total blockade, as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukrainein February 2022.

A very small number of 15 Russian athletes participated in the Paris Olympics last summer, as neutral independents, under very strict conditions set by the IOC (not having expressed support for Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and not serving in the army or security forces, which is however the norm for almost all high-level athletes in the country).

“The geopolitical challenges facing our country make it necessary to optimize and centralize the management of key sectors, including high-level sports51-year-old Pozdniakov said in a statement, adding that the executive committee of the Olympic Committee will meet on 7/11, when it is expected to accept his resignation and set a date for elections to nominate his successor.