Running News Daily

Olympic medalist Irina Privalova nominated for RusAF Presidency

Four-time Olympic medallist Irina Privalova is to stand for the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) Presidency later this month.

Privalova has been nominated for the post by the Moscow Athletics Federation, Russia's state-run news agency TASS reports.

New RusAF elections have been scheduled for November 30.

Until then, Yevgeny Yurchenko - who resigned in July - is the organisation's Acting President.

Regional federations are able to nominate candidates for the RusAF Presidency, and Privalova is not the first to have their name put forward.

Sports manager Mikhail Gusev - who was a candidate in February, before withdrawing late on as Yurchenko became President unopposed - has been nominated by the Athletics Federation of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

Privalova won 400 metres hurdles gold and 4x400m relay bronze for Russia at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

She also won 100m bronze and 4x100m silver at Barcelona 1992, running for the Unified Team of former Soviet nations, and six medals at various World Championships.

RusAF is currently suspended by World Athletics, with its Reinstatement Commission given a March 1 deadline to present the global governing body with a reinstatement plan.

It avoided expulsion in August by paying World Athletics a $6.31 million (£4.8 million/€5.32 million) fine, stemming from an anti-doping rule violation by world indoor high jump champion Danil Lysenko and subsequent cover-up.

Seven RusAF officials - including then-President Dmitry Shlyakhtin - were charged by the Athletics Integrity Unit with obstructing an anti-doping investigation by forging documents to explain Lysenko's missed tests.

Russia has been banned from international competition since November 2015 following allegations of state-sponsored doping, but some athletes have been able to compete under the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) programme.

The ANA scheme is currently suspended for Russian athletes, but is due to be discussed at a World Athletics Council meeting in December.

If the Russian Anti-Doping Agency's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a four-year package of sanctions which includes a ban on the Russian flag flying at the Olympic Games is unsuccessful, the only way Russian track and field athletes will be able to compete at Tokyo 2020 next year is if the ANA programme is resumed.