Athletics: Shlyakhtin re-elected President of Russian federation
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[December 09, 2016]
By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Dmitri Shlyakhtin
was re-elected as President of the All-Russian Athletics Federation
(ARAF) on Friday after twice Olympic pole vault champion Yelena
Isinbayeva withdrew her candidacy.
The 49-year-old Shlyakhtin received 36 votes, five more than rival
Andrei Silnov, and will serve another four years in the post.
Isinbayeva, who Russian media reported had been the favorite to get
the job, withdrew from the election after she was named as head of a
new Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) Supervisory Council on
Wednesday.
"I had to withdraw my candidacy because I was named as the head of
the RUSADA Supervisory Council. This was to ensure that there would
not be a conflict of interests," Isinbayeva told reporters.
Isinbayeva, 34, retired from athletics in August after Russia's
track and field team were banned from competing at the Rio Olympics
due to systematic doping in the country.
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Shlyakhtin took over as interim president in January, nearly a year
after Valentin Balakhnichev stepped down.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has
banned Balakhnichev for life over his role in covering up positive
drugs tests committed by Russian athletes.
Shlyakhtin initially said he would quit as ARAF chief at the end of
2016 due to a heavy workload but then decided to stand for election.
He is also the sports minister of the Samara Region, chairman of
Krylya Sovetov soccer club and vice president of Lada Togliatti ice
hockey club.
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![](../images/120916pics/sports57.jpg)
All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) president Dmitry Shlyakhtin
speaks during an interview in Moscow, Russia, May 23, 2016.
REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
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Russia was suspended from world athletics last year following
allegations of widespread state-sponsored doping in a report by the
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), causing the country's biggest
sporting scandal in several decades.
In November 2015, WADA revoked the status of the Moscow Anti-Doping
Laboratory saying that RUSADA did not comply with WADA standards.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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