体坛英语新闻：Russian Olympic chief quits over Vancouver flop

MOSCOW, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Leonid Tyagachev, resigned on Wednesday following the country's poor performance at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Russian news agencies reported.

"Leonid Tyagachev has offered his resignation," committee spokesman Gennady Shvets was quoted as saying by Interfax.

"This obviously is linked to the Russian athletes' performance at the Vancouver Games," he added.

Russia recorded its worst performance in Vancouver, taking only three golds, five silvers and seven bronzes to finish 11th for golds and sixth in the overall medal standings.

President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday called for a drastic change in the system of athlete training, as well as resignation of officials responsible for preparing Russian athletes for the Winter Olympics.

Tyagachev, 63, served as sports and tourism minister before he took the post in the Olympic Committee in 2001.