Two time Olympic bobsleigh champion Alexander Zubkov declined an offer to head the Irkutsk Region sports ministry. He said he works at CSKA and does not plan to return to the region, but is ready to help his home region develop sports.
Two-time Olympic bobsleigh champion Alexander Zubkov has declined the governor of Irkutsk Oblast’s offer to take the post of regional minister of physical culture, sports, and youth policy.From July to October of this year, Pavel Rostovtsev held the post of head of the sports ministry of Irkutsk Oblast. On October 2, he left this position after the region’s governor, Sergei Levchenko, signed an order for his dismissal.
"At present I work at CSKA and am not considering the possibility of returning to Irkutsk Oblast," Zubkov noted. "I received an indirect offer from the region’s new governor, Sergei Levchenko, to take the post of sports minister. But in the end I decided to decline. Nevertheless, we agreed that I would help my native region develop sport."
Alexander Zubkov, who for many years represented Irkutsk Oblast in all Russian competitions, visited Irkutsk last week and attended the inauguration ceremony of the new head of Priangarye. From August to October 2010, the future winner of two gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Games had already held the post of minister of sports of Irkutsk Oblast.