Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva has been elected to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) athletes commission, despite being banned from the Rio Olympics due to the Russian state sponsored doping scandal.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist is a member of the Russian track and field team – all of which were banned from competing in Rio in the wake of the scandal.
Isinbayeva was elected to the athlete’s commission alongside German fencer Britta Heidemann, Korean table tennis player Seug-Min Ryu and Hungarian swimmer Daniel Gyurta. Athletes are elected to the commission – which acts as a link between athletes and the IOC – by their peers.’
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Over 5,000 athletes voted in the election, which was held over the course of the Rio games. Isinbayeva earned over 1,300 votes, according to a press release from the IOC.
“I am very thankful to all athletes who voted for me here in Rio. Thank you so much for your trust, for your belief, for your support. For me it was very, very important,” Isinbayeva said, according to BBC.
“It is very important for me because I was preparing for this Olympics for a long time and unfortunately I was not able to participate. It is a kind of compensation.”
Russia avoided a blanket ban from the IOC after its state-sponsored doping program was exposed; however, it lost several medal contenders after the IOC imposed new rules banning Russia from entering athletes who previously doped.
READ MORE: There have been 85 athletes from Russian Olympic team banned from Rio
In July, the country lost an appeal to overturn the ban barring its 68 track and field athletes from competing in Rio.
Isinbayeva – who has never failed a drug test – was very outspoken about the ban, even referring to it as a “funeral for athletics.”
In a statement to Russia’s state-owned news agency Friday, Russian Olympic Committee chief Alexander Zhukov said, “It is very symbolic that she was elected after she had been banned from the Olympics. This, her election, is the athletes’ response to injustice. This is Lena Isinbayeva’s victory.”
The 34-year-old athlete will not have another chance at an Olympic medal, however. During a press conference in Rio Friday, she announced she was retiring from the sport. She added she’s considering an offer to lead Russia’s track and field federation.
Isinbayeva and the other athletes will serve on the athlete’s commission for eight years.
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