A page is turning in Russian sport. It was not the most glorious. Alexander Zhukov, the president of the National Olympic Committee (ROC), will very officially hand over the keys to his office this Tuesday, May 29. He renounces a new mandate. A decision that he himself announced at the very beginning of May, suggesting that the presidential function was no longer compatible in the current context with his activity as a deputy in the Russian Parliament.
Who will succeed him? The response will be announced in the coming hours. Two men will appear before the delegates of the national federations, at the ROC headquarters in Moscow, to try to obtain their votes. Two Olympians experienced in the rules and customs of the sporting movement.
In the role of the favorite: Stanislav Pozdnyakov (photo above, right). Forty-four years old, a past as a golden edge fencer, four times Olympic champion, including once individually, at the Atlanta Games in 1996. His weapon: the sabre. He is the current number 2 of the national Olympic committee. A vice-president a priori ideally suited to move up a notch. Stanislav Pozdnyakov has been nominated by more than 30 national federations to run as Alexander Zhukov's successor. He led the delegation of “Olympic Athletes from Russia” to the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.
The outsider: Alexander Popov (on the left in the photo). One of the legends of world swimming, 46 years old, the only swimmer in history to have retained his Olympic titles in the 50 and 100 m freestyle (Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996). Alexander Popov was a member of the IOC for 16 years, as part of the Athletes' Commission. A longevity which today earns him honorary member status. He was nominated by the Russian Shooting Federation for the presidential election on Tuesday, May 29.
On paper, Stanislav Pozdnyakov leads the race. He appears to benefit from more massive support from the Russian sports movement. It embodies a form of continuity after the Zhukov years. A strength and a weakness at the same time. Opposite, Alexander Popov appears as an alternative choice, with a more marked international stature.
The two men, one after the other, gave an interview to Sports Express. They reveal a common denominator: the urgency of putting Russia back in its place on the chessboard of the Olympic movement. Stanislav Pozdnyakov is more conservative. He says he wants to build on the legacy of Alexander Zhukov, while promising changes in the organization of the national Olympic committee. He denounces the “contradictions” of the McLaren report. It deliberately embodies a form of continuity.
In contrast, Alexander Popov poses as a candidate for change. Logic. The former swimmer refrains from announcing a revolution, but he proposes to rebuild the house from floor to ceiling, without losing sight of the objective of regaining favor in the eyes of the IOC and the international Olympic movement. Without admitting it, Alexander Popov is counting on his charisma and his image to reverse the trend, before the vote, during the presentations.
The only certainty: Russia will have one less member in the IOC in the coming hours. By abandoning his presidential chair, Alexander Zhukov will also relinquish his status as a member of the institution. Stanislav Pozdnyakov told Sports Express that he was already working on his replacement, without specifying whether he planned to take on the role or entrust it to another. To Alexander Popov, for example. A way to create two winners, a very popular strategy currently in the Olympic movement.
