Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev Nominated as New Head of Russian Olympic Committee Amid Calls for Athlete Rights Restoration

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev has been offered to become the new head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). His application was announced by the head of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpishchev, at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports, held in Ufa. Russian President Vladimir Putin supported this proposal.

Degtyarev himself said that if elected to the post of head of the ROC, he would follow a course towards restoring the rights of Russian athletes. “Returning to the Olympic movement is consistent with the contribution of Russian and Soviet sport to the international Olympic movement and the restoration of the rights of all our athletes. This is an undoubted course from which we will not leave,” Interfax quotes him as saying.

The minister said that Russia is ready to communicate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “We have many contacts, including with IOC members, informal ones. We need to communicate. We must stop insulting each other and shake our fists,” said Degtyarev. “We are heading back to the Olympic family and protecting the rights of our athletes. We don’t slam doors or brandish verbal weapons. We are moving our relationship to the legal level.”

On October 15, the current President of the Russian Olympic Committee was Stanislav Pozdnyakov namethat he resigns. He suggested that the ROC executive committee set a date for the Olympic meeting to hold early elections for new leadership. Stanislav Pozdnyakov is a four-time Olympic champion in saber fencing (1992, 1996, 2000), ten-time world champion and thirteen-time European champion. He has been in charge of the Russian Olympic Committee since May 2018.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus. According to them, international competitions will not be held in Russia and Belarus, anthems, flags and other national symbols of the two countries cannot be displayed at any international competitions, and officials and officials have no right others to receive credit or invitations to such events. At the Olympics in Paris, which took place in 2024, the IOC allowed Russian athletes to compete in neutral status (without the flag and anthem) – and only in individual sports. As a result, 15 Russian athletes participated in the Games.

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