Leonid Melnikov has been President of the Russian Alpine Ski Federation since 2014 ©RFGS

Leonid Melnikov has been re-elected as head of the Russian Alpine Skiing Federation (RFGS) after standing unopposed for the role.

The 56-year-old Russian official has been in charge of the national governing body since May 2014 and is now set to serve another four-year term.

Melnikov was the only candidate who stood for the RFGS Presidency at an electoral conference held in Kaluga.

Valery Tsyganov was also elected vice-president of the RFGS for a third term, while the delegates of the conference elected the make-up of the organisation's Presidium and agreed on members of its Control and Audit Commissions.

Melnikov will continue to lead the RFGS with Russian athletes frozen out of competition by the International Ski Federation (FIS) in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, aided by Belarus.

Alpine skier Aleksandr Khoroshilov represented the Russian Olympic Committee at Beijing 2022 but athletes from the country have since been banned due to the war in Ukraine ©Getty Images
Alpine skier Aleksandr Khoroshilov represented the Russian Olympic Committee at Beijing 2022 but athletes from the country have since been banned due to the war in Ukraine ©Getty Images

The FIS had initially allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate as neutrals before issuing a blanket ban following pressure from the Norwegian Ski Federation, among others.

While Melnikov has been head of the RFGS, skiers have not competed under the Russian flag for the past two Winter Olympics.

Russian athletes represented the Olympic Athletes from Russia team at Pyeongchang 2018 and then the Russian Olympic Committee at Beijing 2022 due to the fallout from the country’s state-sponsored doping scandal during Sochi 2014.

No Russian Alpine skiers won a medal at Beijing 2022, with Julia Pleshkova and Aleksandr Khoroshilov producing the best results with 10th-place finishes in the women's combined and men's slalom, respectively.