Sports minister Vitaly Mutkov said Tuesday that he was ready to step down, becoming the first top official to react to President Dmitry Medvedev’s call for resignations after the country’s lackluster showing at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
“I will resign peacefully if this was directed at me,” Mutko said as he arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport from Vancouver, Interfax reported.
Medvedev said Monday that “fat cat” sports bureaucrats should quit or be fired because of the Vancouver fiasco. Russia, which will host the next Winter Games in Sochi in 2014, finished in 11th place with only three gold medals — its worst-ever Olympics performance.
Full story: Sports Minister Ready to Quit Over Olympics–The Moscow Times