ROME -- Ezio Gamba, the decorated Italian judoka who has previously trained Vladimir Putin, has announced his decision to leave his role as technical coordinator of the Russian national teams. He will now run for the role of president at the Italian Federation of Judo, Wrestling, Karate and Martial Arts (FIJLKAM), Gamba has said.

 Gamba, 65, known in Italy for the gold medal he won at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, was employed by the Russian Judo Federation in 2008 and, under his guidance, Russian athletes won gold medals in judo for the first time in their history at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Gamba also trained Putin in that period and the Russian president granted him a Russian passport.

 In an Instagram post on Monday, the former Olympic champion announced he would be standing for president of FILJKAM.

 “I have undertaken this adventure to promote FILJKAM disciplines, to make those who take part enthusiastic, and to give back to anyone already in our movement a sense of belonging to a big family.”

 In an interview with Corriere della Sera this week, Gamba confirmed Putin had not expressed any opposition to his departure.

 “He still hasn’t called me,” he said. “It’s been a while since we spoke to each other on the phone.”

 “Now [Putin] has the age he has, but he is talented,” he continued. “What struck me was how he is with the judo team: he knows all of their names and when he’s together with them he seems like a curious kid playing with Lego.”

 If Gamba is appointed as president of FILJKAM, his in-tray will be translating the work already carried out by the federation into real-life results. Italy’s only gold medal at the Olympics in Paris came from Alice Bellandi.

 bq