The 2016 Olympic modern pentathlon champion Alexander Lesun has criticised the composition of a group appointed by the UIPM to decide on Russian participation ©Getty Images

Olympic gold medallist Alexander Lesun has criticised the composition of a group appointed by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) to decide whether athletes from Russia and Belarus meet the criteria to compete.

Egypt's three-time Olympian Aya Medany, a member of the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission, has been chosen to chair the group which will also consider the timeframe for athletes allowed to return.

Guatemala's UIPM Technical Committee member Ana Ruth Orellana will also take a seat on the panel, alongside South Korea's Sungjoo Park, the director of the Institute of Sport Ethics.

Nishanthe Piyasena, the Chef de Mission for Sri Lanka at the delayed 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou this year, and Harald Vervaecke, a UIPM Commission for Culture and Education member from Belgium, have also been given roles.

Lesun, winner of the Olympic title at Rio 2016, has claimed that the group lacks the necessary experience to make such an important decision.

Sri Lankan Modern Pentathlon Federation President Nishanthe Piyasena is part of a group appointed by the UIPM to decide on criteria to allow Russian athletes to compete - an appointment called
Sri Lankan Modern Pentathlon Federation President Nishanthe Piyasena is part of a group appointed by the UIPM to decide on criteria to allow Russian athletes to compete - an appointment called "strange" by Alexander Lesun ©OCA

"This is a very strange Commission," Lesun told Russia’s official state news agency TASS.

"The only person from it who left his mark on the pentathlon is the Egyptian Aya Medani, and the rest of the people I don’t know at all.

"The Commission includes the President of the Pentathlon Federation of Sri Lanka - is there pentathlon there?

"I don't understand how these people can decide whether or not to allow Russian athletes.

"But, on the other hand, I'm a little optimistic about all this.

"Let's see how it all ends."

Unlike some other Russian athletes, Lesun believes that they should be prepared to compete at next year's Olympic Games in Paris under a neutral flag.

"I think that the Russians should agree to the condition to compete at the Olympic Games in a neutral status," he told TASS. 

"Whether we have our own flag or not, the entire world elite still knows where the athlete came from. 

"All these undercover games around the flag and the anthem is a second matter.

"Understand, the age of an athlete is short, and in 20 years no one will remember what flag we competed with at the Olympics. 

"The strongest athletes come every four years to the most important start in their lives, with which nothing compares."

It had been claimed last year that Alexander Lesun, right, had quit Russian modern pentathlon in protest at the invasion by Vladimir Putin, left, of Ukraine ©The Kremlin
It had been claimed last year that Alexander Lesun, right, had quit Russian modern pentathlon in protest at the invasion by Vladimir Putin, left, of Ukraine ©The Kremlin

Lesun was at the centre of mystery last year when it was reported that he had quit the Russian team shortly after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in protest.

The head coach of the Russian modern pentathlon team Andrey Makushin claimed that Lesun was out of shape after testing positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic and was one of the reasons for his career to end.

Lesun now seems to be back firmly in the fold in Russia and has been attending the Russian Championships.

"I very rarely pay attention to events in sports politics, I'm so tired of the process," Lesun told TASS. 

"I try to abstract from all this."