Her appointment follows her extensive work managing the Ivan Yarygin Memorial Fund, which supports female and freestyle wrestling in deprived regions in her native Russia, and fulfils the pledge made by the sport's world governing body to improve gender equality following its fight to retain its spot on the Olympic programme.

Yarygin also serves as vice-president of the Russian Wrestling Federation and has been a bureau member since her election in 2000.

Akhroldjan Ruziev of Uzbekistan was also named as a new vice-president, replacing outgoing Tomiaki Fukuda of Japan.

Ruziev, a former Soviet wrestler, is a vice-president of the Uzbekistan Wrestling Federation and has been an active leader of the international federation's "Sport for All" commission, which provides mats, uniforms and programme assistance to developing national federations.

He was also the technical delegate for the sport at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games and is a long-serving bureau member.

Yarygin and Ruziev's appointments follow the re-election last Sunday (September 7) of Nenad Lalovic as the President of wrestling's world governing body on the same day that the organisation officially changed its name from the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles to United World Wrestling.

The pair will now join Turkey's Ahmet Ayık, Russian Mikhail Mamiashvili and Stanley Dziedzic of the United States, who are already serving terms as vice-presidents of United World Wrestling.

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