LAUSANNE (Decemeber 14) - Four-time Olympic sabre gold medallist Stanislav Pozdnyakov has been elected First Vice President of the Russian Olympic Committee.
This is the second appointment for Pozdnyakov in the space of six months: In June, he was elected to the presidency of the European Fencing Confederation. Pozdnyakov had already been vice president of the Confederation from 2009 to 2013.
In 2012, he was elected as member of the FIE Executive Committee and then nominated as representative of the FIE’s Coaches Council.
Pozdnyakov is one of fencing’s most successful athletes. He won individual and team gold at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and team gold at Barcelona 1992 and Sydney 2000. He amassed 10 world championship gold medals from the 1994 edition in Athens through to St. Petersburg in 2007. Pozdnyakov was European Champion in 1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 in individual events and European Champion in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 in team events.
Since retiring from competition, Pozdnyakov has held a number of roles within fencing. In 2008 he became senior coach for the Russian national team and the following year he was appointed First Deputy President of the Russian Fencing Federation.
He is an Honorary member of the Russian Fencing Federation and a member of the FIE hall of Fame.