The leader of Dagestan demanded to rename the Makhachkala stadium, which is named after Elena Isinbayeva

Head of the Republic of Dagestan Sergei Melikov said that the athletics stadium named after Elena Isinbayeva in Makhachkala should be renamed in connection with the recent statements of the athlete.

Earlier, Olympic champion Isinbayeva announced that she would return to work with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in September, and also noted that she had never been in the Russian armed forces and called her rank a major of “nominal”.

– Many of us remember how hastily, without taking into account the opinion of the townspeople, the athletic stadium in the center of Makhachkala was renamed in honor of Elena Isinbayeva 6 years ago.

Yes, she is a talented athlete who set more than one world record, but she never connected her life, past and future with Dagestan. And the last statements of the athlete, made from behind the cordon, are for us a serious signal and a reason to reconsider the name of the stadium.

This place is popular among people: dozens of residents of Makhachkala, together with their children, come to the stadium every day to play sports and spend their free time, major events at the regional level are held here. Therefore, it will be correct if the new name of the object is chosen by the Dagestanis themselves. I instruct the Ministry of Sports of Dagestan and the Mayor of Makhachkala to organize this work.

Dagestan is a sports republic, we have many worthy athletes, true patriots of the homeland, stories of triumph, when the character of Dagestan allowed our athletes to snatch victory even from the strongest opponent. This is what I think should be reflected in the name of the stadium. I admit that people will even want to return the old name – “WORK”. And in honor of Elena Isinbayeva, let them name a gymnasium in Spain, which she preferred to Russia, ”Melikov wrote on the Telegram channel.

Isinbayeva is a two-time Olympic pole vault champion (she won gold at the Games in 2004 and 2008), bronze medalist at the 2012 Olympics, multiple world champion and holder of 28 world records.