Russian Biathlon Union President Mikhail Prokhorov said on Friday that he hopes to be able to keep the post, while working on his political career.
“I think I will manage to combine everything. I managed to do that in business. I am a fighter and will fight until the end. I think I will be able to do it,” he told journalists in the town of Khanty-Mansiisk in the Urals, where the World Cup Biathlon Final is being held.
The national biathlon team finished the world championships in Germany on March 11 with two bronze medals, its worst-ever showing at the world championships, excluding the smaller-scale events held in Olympic years.
The billionaire Russian politician said on March 11 that he would leave his job as head of the Union if it interfered with his political activities.
Prokhorov came third in the March 4 presidential elections, with around eight percent of the vote, running on a liberal platform.
Prokhorov, who also owns the New Jersey Nets basketball team, said the pressures of the election campaign meant he had neglected his duties with the biathlon federation.
The billionaire, who made his fortune in banking and mining, has been president of the Russian Biathlon Union since 2008.
