Valentin Vasilyevich Balakhnichev (; born 23 April 1949) is a Russian engineer and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

coach and a former president of the

All-Russia Athletic Federation The Russian Athletics Federation (RAF), previously named the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF; ), is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Russia. Its president is Dmitry Shlyakhtin. World Athletics suspended the Russian Athletics ...

. After investigations into corruption involving

performance enhancing drug A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

testing, Balakhnichev was banned for life by the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

Biography

Balakhnichev was an athlete for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, taking third place in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

at the 1973 national championships and representing his country at the 1973 European Indoor Championships. He retired as an active athlete in 1976 a year after receiving his degree from Moscow Power Engineering University and began his career as a coach. He was the Soviet national coach from 1978 to 1984. He has since earned a PhD and is a doctor of sciences in theory and methodology of physical education and sports training. Since 1991 he has been president of the

. He is also a member of the Council for Physical Culture and Sport under

President of the Russian Federation The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

and a member of the Executive Committee of the

Russian Olympic Committee The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is the National Olympic Committee representing Russia. Its current president during IOC suspension is Mikhail Degtyarev. The membership of ROC is currently suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC ...

. He has held the positions of Vice-Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation Positions in the International Sports Organizations, Vice-President,

European Athletic Association The European Athletic Association (EAA, more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics h ...

, on the IAAF Marketing & Promotion Commission since 1997, a member of the council of the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

since 2007 and Treasurer. Balakhnichev resigned his role as IAAF Treasurer amid allegations from the German broadcaster ARD that the world body is investigating a systematic doping scandal and coverup in Russia. Among the allegations was that

Liliya Shobukhova Liliya Bulatovna Shobukhova, née Shagbalova, Divorced name Volkova, (; born 13 November 1977) is a Russian long-distance runner who competed in marathon races. She previously specialized in the 3000 and 5000 metres track events. She served a d ...

, the second fastest

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

er in history paid $450,000 to avoid a doping ban. She was eventually banned, annulling her results back to 2009. Also under Balakhnichev's watch is the

Saransk Saransk (, ); ; is the capital city of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located in the Volga River, Volga drainage basin, basin at the confluence of the Saranka and Insar Rivers, about east of Moscow. Sar ...

based program of Viktor Chegin, who has had at least 30 of his athletes banned for doping offenses, including Olympic and

world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

champions Elena Lashmanova and

Valeriy Borchin Valeriy Viktorovich Borchin (; born 11 September 1986) is a race walker from Russia who won the 2008 Olympic gold medal and was World champion over the 20 km distance. His World Championship was retroactively stripped in 2015 due to doping. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balakhnichev, Valentin 1949 births Soviet male hurdlers Russian male hurdlers Russian referees and umpires Athletics (track and field) administrators Russian athletics coaches Living people 20th-century Russian sportsmen