The Russian athletics federation elected a politically connected former coach as its new president Saturday as it "tries to end the country's suspension from Olympic track and field" according to James Ellingworth of the AP. Dmitry Shlyakhtin, a regional sports minister in the Samara region of central Russia, was "elected unanimously after his main rival withdrew as part of a deal brokered by senior Russian officials." Shlyakhtin said that his ''task is simple, to return Russian athletics to the world level and to revive trust.'' Russia's chief negotiator with WADA and the IAAF during its suspension Gennady Alyoshin said that Shlyakhtin will head an "anti-crisis team" of new Russian track officials. Alyoshin said that anyone involved in doping "faced sporting sanctions and that any evidence of criminality would be reported." He said, "People who have allowed breaches of anti-doping law will be punished. We have to do that" (AP, 1/16). REUTERS' Stubbs & Rogovitskiy reported Shlyakhtin said that his priority was to "ensure Russian sportsmen and women compete at the 2016 Olympics." He said, "This is not an easy time for Russia, it is not an easy time for athletics. Going to the Olympic Games is task number one." Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that Shlyakhtin was an experienced organizer who "could grapple with the challenges facing Russian sport." Mutko: "I hope he will be the candidate who can manage the task of restoring the lost position of our athletics" (REUTERS, 1/16).
