New RUSADA supervisory board chair replaces Isinbayeva to meet WADA road map requirements
Alexander Ivlev has been officially announced as the new chair of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) supervisory board, replacing two-time Olympic pole vault champion, Yelena Isinbayeva, who stepped down in May.
Ivlev, who served as deputy chairman under Isinbayeva and was interim chairman after she stepped down from the position, was officially announced as new RUSADA supervisory board chair at the organization’s meeting on Tuesday, TASS reports.
Isinbayeva took on the role in March, after her nomination from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), however, pointed out that due to the nature of her nomination, which might lead to a conflict of interest, she cannot be seen as an independent chairperson.
Isinbayeva stepped down as chair of the anti-doping agency at the end of May, as WADA included her removal as one of the four main criteria for RUSADA to be declared compliant.
Earlier, a WADA spokesman confirmed to insidethegames.biz that the organization sees Ivlev as “one of the independent members of the Board, a key requirement for the position, as outlined in RUSADA’s roadmap to re-compliance.”
Following the news, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko called Ivlev's appointment another step toward RUSADA's reinstatement.
"The next step will be to announce the organisation's CEO," Mutko told TASS.
In the wake of the Russian doping scandal, WADA suspended RUSADA in November 2015 from carrying out doping control within the country, but later provided it with a road map to re-compliance.
