The president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, Vessela Lecheva, is a candidate for president of the International Shooting Sport Federation. The vote will be held during the congress in Rome on December 13 and 14, 2026.
There are four candidates for the position. The current president, Luciano Rossi, who is 73 years old, will seek a second term. In November 2022, he won the elections against Russian Vladimir Lisin with 136:127 votes.
Rossi will face 71-year-old Alexander Ratner. He is a former secretary general of the International Shooting Sport Federation and current secretary general of the European Shooting Confederation, where Vessela Lecheva is vice president. Ratner was born in Moscow, but holds a German passport. His candidacy was submitted by Russia.
Ratner proposes a complete change in the format of the competitions, so that they become more attractive to the public and television viewers.
The youngest contender is 50-year-old Konstantin Pirovarov. He is a businessman and former deputy minister of regional development of Ukraine. Pirovarov is the first vice-president of the football club “Metalist“ from Kharkiv and heads the Ukrainian hunting shooting federation.
Unlike the other three candidates, Pirovarov has also submitted documents for the vote for vice-president. Lecheva, Rossi and Ratner are only participating in the race for the presidential post.
The International Shooting Sport Federation confirmed that the elections will be part of the general assembly in Rome. “The 2026 General Assembly and elections will be held on December 13 and 14 in Rome“, the federation said in a statement.
Lecheva's candidacy puts Bulgaria in direct competition for the highest position in world shooting sports. The decision will be made by the federation's delegates in December.