|
|
 |
 |   |
|
INTERNATIONAL NEWS EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Russia's Committee elects Tyagachyov
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's Olympic Committee on Wednesday elected former Alpine skier and veteran coach Leonid Tyagachyov as its new chairman. Tyagachyov replaced Vitaly Smirnov, who earlier in the week was named deputy head of the International Olympic Committee. Smirnov, who was not seeking re-election to the Russian post, has endorsed the choice of Tyagachyov, his first deputy. Smirnov said he took the decision to leave the Russian committee long before his IOC nomination and has informed Russian President Vladimir Putin about it back in April. "From my point of view, there must be renewal in the leadership bodies of the national Olympic Committee," Smirnov said. Tyagachyov, 54, who previously headed the Mountain Skiing Federation and was the chief of the Russian State Sports Committee, said he was convinced that he would have good relations with the newly elected IOC president Jacques Rogge. "All of us are German-speaking and it is easy for us to communicate," he said. Tyagachyov, said to be close to Putin with whom he is reportedly skiing together, noted that his immediate and key task would be to prepare the Russian team, on a limited budget available, for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
| |||||||||||||||||||
