S. PETERSBURG, July 28, Dmitry Edigarev. Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva must realize that her career is over, now she needs to work for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), said former Russian sports minister Pavel Kolobkov.
Earlier, ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov said that Yelena Isinbayeva distanced herself from the ROC, being a member of the organization's executive committee. At the same time, he said that Isinbayeva cannot be expelled from the executive committee as long as she is a member of the IOC.
“I don’t know why Yelena Isinbayeva distanced herself from the ROC. I hope that in the future she will take a more active part in sports life. I read that she will participate in the activities of the IOC. This is not an honorary award, but a job. Lena should realize that her sports career is over, so you need to work for the IOC and the ROC, of which she is a member of the executive committee. I hope she will figure it out,» Kolobkov said.
Isinbayeva on July 17, after a long absence from the public field, announced that she would continue working at the IOC from September. The former athlete, who has the rank of major, said, in particular, that the military ranks received while playing for CSKA are nominal. According to her, the IOC «has no doubts» about her.