RBU Presidential candidate Viktor Maigourov has promised to stand down if he does not achieve his aims ©Getty Images

Viktor Maigourov, a candidate for President of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), has claimed he will stand down within a year of being elected if he ousts incumbent Vladimir Drachev but fails to "fulfil my promises".

Maigourov, who won bronze at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano and in Salt Lake City four years later, will challenge Drachev for the RBU Presidency at an extraordinary elective conference on July 11.

Should he beat his under-fire opponent in the election, Maigourov has vowed to resign if he fails to achieve his main targets within 12 months.

"I will be ready to get up and leave in a year if I do not fulfill my promises," said Maigurov, according to Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"I’m sorry to see what is happening in our favourite sport. 

"In the autumn it seemed that everything was working out, but after that the situation began to deteriorate again. 

"Moreover, our friends from the International Biathlon Union (IBU) read everything and they immediately know any news about Russian biathlon."

The result of the July 11 election will be crucial for the future of Russian biathlon ©Getty Images
The result of the July 11 election will be crucial for the future of Russian biathlon ©Getty Images

Maigourov also warned the RBU's debt now stood at 30 million rubles (£337,000/$420,000/€374,000), of which two-thirds is owed to the IBU.

The RBU must pay its debt to the IBU as part of criteria it must meet if it is to regain its status as a full member of the worldwide body.

The RBU was relegated to provisional membership as punishment for the country's doping scandal.

Drachev is standing for re-election despite growing calls for him to resign following a tumultuous period for the national organisation.