| Ilgar Mammadov | |
| Birth Date: | 15 November 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
| Weight: | 83 kg |
| Weapon: | Foil |
| Hand: | Right-handed |
| Club: | CSKA Moscow |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Ilgar Yasharovich Mammadov (also spelled Mamedov, Russian: Ильгар Яшарович Мамедов, Azerbaijani: İlqar Yaşar oğlu Məmmədov; born 15 November 1965 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR) is a Soviet and Russian of Azerbaijani origin who serves as President of the Russian Fencing Federation, and a former fencer .[1] He is a two-time Olympic and one time world champion in team foil.
Mammadov graduated from the Baku State University. He married World and European champion fencer Yelena Jemayeva. They live in Moscow and have two daughters: Milena and Ayla.[2]
He competed in four Olympic Games in 1988–2000, Mammadov won two Olympic gold medals in the team foil competition, at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[3] [4]
After retiring from competition, Mammadov became a fencing master and referee. In 2008, he became the Russian representative to the Refereeing Commission of the International Fencing Federation (FIE). In 2013, he was inducted into the FIE's Hall of Fame.[5]
He was appointed director of fencing in the Russian Fencing Federation[6] after Vladislav Pavlovich's resignation following the 2012 Summer Olympics.[7] He serves as president of the Russian Fencing Federation
In 2023, Mammadov lashed out at the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) proposal to allow Russian athletes to enter international competition only if they satisfied two conditions, following their suspension a year earlier due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, considering any restrictions unfair and humiliating.[8] The Executive Committee of the IOC on March 28, 2023, recommended that the Russians be allowed to participate in a neutral status if the athletes: a) do not actively support the war; and b) are not members of Russian law enforcement or armed forces.[9] He said that all of the country's leading fencers are in the Russian army or law enforcement agencies.[10]
He also commented on the French federation's decision to bar Russian fencers from attending the World Cup event in France:[11]
In reaction to the emigration to the United States in 2023 of Russian Olympians Sergey Bida (a silver medal winner) and his wife Violetta Khrapina Bida, joining two-time junior world sabre champion Konstantin Lokhanov as the second and third Russian Olympian fencers to emigrate to the United States after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Fencing Federation announced its decision to fire Russian national épée team head coach Alexander Glazunov. Glazunov, when he was then interviewed about the development, said to RBC Sport: "Ask the president of the federation [Ilgar] Mammadov – he fired me, not me."[12]