(ATR) The Russian NOC confirms that former IOC member Alexander Popov and Olympic fencing champion Stanislav Pozdnyakov will contest the election.
One of them will be elected on May 29 to replace Alexander Zhukov, ROC chief since 2010, who decided against standing for another term.
They were the only candidates to come forward by the May 14 deadline.
Pozdnyakov, 44, was nominated by the Russian Cross Country Skiing Federation. Popov, the 46-year-old nine-time Olympic medalist and member of the IOC from 2000 to 2016, was put forward by the Russian shooting federation.
A Russian source tells Around the Rings that Pozdnyakov is hot favorite to win the election as he is backed by around 35 national federations.
"Pozdnyakov has political support of the country," the source said, suggesting Popov was only put forward to ensure the presidential election wasn’t uncontested.
Pozdnyakov is said to be backed by Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek-born Russian billionaire president of the International Fencing Federation who is an influential figure in Russian sports politics.
Zhukov’s decision not to run for re-election means he will lose his IOC membership.
When he steps down later this month, Russia will only have two IOC members – Shamil Tarpishev and Yelena Isinbayeva. Both Vitaly Smirnov and Popov are honorary members.
Homepage logo: Russian NOC
Reported by Mark Bisson
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