Will the return to grace of Russian athletics come through its women? At least three of them, and not the least, seem determined to go on the offensive after the provisional suspension of their federation, declared at the end of last week by the IAAF after the revelations of a WADA investigation on doping allegations.
Yelena Isinbayeva, the world record holder in the pole vault, and Anna Chicherova, the 2012 Olympic height champion (our photo, from left to right), took the lead on Monday January 16 in Moscow. Accompanied by another big name in Russian athletics, hurdler Sergey Shubenkov, reigning world champion in the 110m hurdles, they held a press conference to denounce a suspension deemed “unfair” for the athletes.
“Why should athletes like me, “clean” athletes, suffer from those who have engaged in dishonest practices?, questioned Yelena Isinbayeva, the most verbose of the trio. This is not fair to athletes. I was really shocked when I heard the news of the suspension decreed by the IAAF. Dick Pound (the president of the WADA Ethics Commission, editor's note) said that I was a victim of the system. But I am not a victim of the system, I am outside the system. »
According to AFP, the pole vaulter admitted that there were currently "discussions in sporting circles" about the possibility of seeing Russian athletes parade at the Rio Games under the Olympic banner, while indicating that she did not know "if this is possible ". Then the double Olympic champion, in the race for a possible 5th participation in the Games next year in Rio, insisted: “But we want to sing our national anthem. »
Yelena Isinbayeva and Anna Chicherova do not want to sit idly by waiting for their leaders to resolve the matter their way. They are leading the charge. The two young women could even go further. The first of the two Russian jumpers explained to the agency at the start of the week Tass that she would not be opposed to the idea of running for the presidency of the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) after the Rio Games. She will then have ended her athletic career and says she is ready to consider “all retraining proposals”, including the top position. Yelena Isinbayeva also declared herself, last month, a candidate for the IOC Athletes' Commission in the next elections, organized next year in the Olympic village in Rio de Janeiro.
Another renowned Russian athlete has taken a stand for the elections for the presidency of Russian athletics. Svetlana Masterkova, Olympic champion in the 800 and 1500 m at the Atlanta Games in 1996, has already announced her candidacy for president of the ARAF. She wants to embody a form of renewal, giving athletes a voice again and chasing away the bureaucrats, responsible in her eyes for a system eaten away by corruption and cheating.
A first election for the presidency of the Russian Athletics Federation is to be held on January 16, 2016. It will aim to designate a successor to Vadim Zelichenok, the current holder of the position, invited to act as interim after the suspension of Valentin Balakhnichev, who had chaired the ARAF since 1991 before being unceremoniously pushed out last summer. Applications will be received until mid-December 2015, they must be supported by at least one regional federation of Russia. A second election must then be organized, no later than six months after the end of the Rio Games. Yelena Isinbayeva could be one of the curiosities.
