Isinbayeva said her victory in the elections is a huge blow to the IAFF which banned her along with Russia’s entire track and field team from the Rio Games.
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Rio de Janeiro: Two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva was Thursday elected onto the International Olympic Committee’s athletes commission despite being excluded with the Russian team from taking part in the Rio Games.
She and 66 other Russian track and field athletes were barred from the Rio Games by the IAAF following allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia.
The decision came after Canadian law professor Richard McLaren’s report which supported allegations of a state-backed doping program in Russian Federation, made by the former head of Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov.
He added the fact that the athletes supported the Russian pole vaulter was very important.
The 34-year-old Russian pole vaulter, who is a double Olympic champion, has been elected by fellow athletes as one of four new members of the commission, which serves as a link between athletes and the IOC.
‘Now I will work very hard for the Olympic movement. The candidates had to be presented by their National Olympic Committees, which were required to have their own athletes’ commission to select the candidate. Votes needed to be cast for four different athletes from four different sports. The other three athletes elected to the commission were from Germany, Korea and Hungary.
This comes despite the 34-year-old being among athletes prevented from competing at the Olympic Games in Rio due to the ban on global competition for Russian athletes imposed by the worldwide Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
“It is symbolic that she was chosen after she was not allowed to participate in the Olympics”.
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“I am very thankful to all athletes who voted for me here in Rio”, Isinbayeva said in the Olympic Village. US-based long jumper Darya Klishina made the final but was never close to a podium finish after being eliminated early on.
