Ilgar Yasharovich Mammadov (also spelled Mamedov, russian: Ильгар Яшарович Мамедов, az, İlqar Yaşar oğlu Məmmədov; born 15 November 1965 in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Azerbaijan SSR Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

) is a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n of Azerbaijani origin who serves as President of the

Russian Fencing Federation The Russian Fencing Federation (russian: Федерация Фехтования России (ФФР), translit=Federatsiya Fekhtovaniya Rossii (FFR); french: Fédération d'escrime de la Russie) is the governing body for the sport of fencing in ...

, and a former fencer . He is a two-time Olympic and world champion in team foil.

Early life

Mammadov graduated from the

Baku State University Baku State University (BSU) ( az, Bakı Dövlət Universiteti (BDU)) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and ...

. He married World and European champion fencer

Yelena Jemayeva Yelena Jemayeva (russian: Елена Жемаева, also spelled Elena, born 30 March 1971) is a Russian-born Azerbaijani sabre fencer. She holds a twice World champion (1999, 2000) and European champion (1999). She competed in the individual ...

. They live in Moscow and have two daughters: Milena and Ayla.

Career

Fencer

He competed in four Olympic Games in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

–

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Mammadov won two Olympic gold medals in the team foil competition, at the 1988 Summer Olympics in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

and at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Coach and referee

After retiring from competition, Mammadov became a fencing master and referee. In 2008, he became the Russian representative to the Refereeing Commission of the

International Fencing Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(FIE). In 2013, he was inducted into the FIE's Hall of Fame.

Russian Fencing Federation president

He was appointed director of fencing in the

after

Vladislav Pavlovich Vladislav Yuryevich Pavlovich (russian: Владислав Юрьевич Павлович, also spelled Pavlovitch, born 17 March 1971) is a former Russian fencer, who won a gold Olympic medal in the team foil competition at the 1996 Summer Oly ...

's resignation following the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He serves as president of the

In 2023, Mammadov lashed out at the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

's (IOC) proposal to allow Russian athletes to enter international competition only if they satisfied two conditions, following their suspension a year earlier due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, considering any restrictions unfair and humiliating. The Executive Committee of the IOC on March 28, 2023, recommended that the Russians be allowed to participate in a neutral status if the athletes: a) do not actively support the war; and b) are not members of Russian law enforcement or armed forces. He said that all of the country's leading fencers are in the Russian army or law enforcement agencies. He also commented on the French federation's decision to bar Russian fencers from attending the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

event in France: In reaction to the emigration to the United States in 2023 of Russian Olympians

Sergey Bida Sergey Olegovich Bida ( rus, Сергей Олегович Бида, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈbʲidə; born 13 February 1993; nicknamed Bidon) is a Russian left-handed épée fencer, three-time European épée team champion, and 2021 Olympic épée ...

(a silver medal winner) and his wife Violetta Khrapina Bida, joining two-time junior world sabre champion

Konstantin Lokhanov Konstantin Lokhanov (Russian: Константин Игоревич Лоханов; born 10 November 1998; nicknamed Kostya) is a Russian sabre fencer living in San Diego, California, in the United States. Lokhanov was ranked # 1 in the world in ...

as the second and third Russian Olympian fencers to emigrate to the United States after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Fencing Federation announced its decision to fire Russian national épée team head coach Alexander Glazunov. Glazunov, when he was then interviewed about the development, said to ''RBC Sport'': "Ask the president of the federation lgarMammadov – he fired me, not me."

References

External links

* * * 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Baku Soviet male foil fencers Russian male foil fencers Azerbaijani emigrants to Russia Russian sportspeople of Azerbaijani descent Fencers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic fencers for the Soviet Union Olympic fencers for the Unified Team Olympic fencers for Russia Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for Russia Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics {{russia-fencing-bio-stub