MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Russia’s 2002 Olympic champion in pair figure skating competitions Anton Sikharulidze was elected on Wednesday to the post of a vice president of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSFR).

The Figure Skating Federation of Russia held a report and election conference in Moscow on Wednesday. Vera Bogush, Vladimir Gribanov, Sergey Kononykhin and Irina Reber were re-elected to their posts of the FSFR vice presidents.

At the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang, the Russian national Olympic team of figure skaters won six medals in total - two gold, three silver and one bronze medals.

Sikharulidze, 45, is the 2002 Olympic Champion winning the gold in pair with Yelena Berezhnaya at the Winter Olympic Games in the United States’ Salt Lake City. Skating with Berezhnaya, Sikharulidze also clinched golds of the 1998 and 1999 ISU World Championships.

His duo with Berezhnaya also brought him the silver of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Japan’s Nagano.

On December 17, 2021, Sikharulidze was elected the chair of the Figure Skating Federation of Saint Petersburg.

ISU’s sanctions against Russia

On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments referring to a special military operation in Ukraine.

Following the IOC recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

On April 25, the Council of the International Skating Union (ISU) has canceled Russia’s stage of the 2022/2023 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series.

The ISU also confirmed in its statement that "Until further notice no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International Competitions, including ISU Championships and other ISU Events."

On March 1, the International Skating Union announced a decision to provisionally suspend all athletes from Russia and Belarus. The suspension was enforced in regard to figure skating, speed skating and short-track speed skating competitions. Russia was scheduled to host 2022 ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix on November 25-27.