Sergey Dzhienbaev has been elected President of the Russian Yachting Federation ©Instagram

Sergey Dzhienbaev has been elected President of the Russian Yachting Federation (VFPS) following a comfortable victory over rival Vasily Senatorov.

Dzhienbaev, a member of the Russian national team, won with 164 votes to Senatorov's 39 at the VFPS elective conference.

The 47-year-old succeeds Vladimir Silkin, who did not stand for re-election.

"The sailing federation is headed by a professional athlete, a member of the Russian national sailing team," said Artem Kuznetsov, chairman of the VFPS Board of Trustees.

"Sergey Dzhienbaev has extensive experience as a public figure."

Sergey Dzhienbaev will be tasked with helping Russian sailors in the build-up to Tokyo 2020 following his election as VFPS President ©Getty Images
Sergey Dzhienbaev will be tasked with helping Russian sailors in the build-up to Tokyo 2020 following his election as VFPS President ©Getty Images

Dzhienbaev, a former President of the Moscow Sailing Federation, coached the Russian team from 2011 to 2013.

He has a best world ranking of 27 in the Nacra 17 class and finished 30th at the 2018 World Championships in Aarhus.

Dzhienbaev's election came prior to voting opening in the World Sailing Presidential election, where incumbent Kim Andersen is facing three challengers in vice-presidents Quanhai Li and Scott Perry, and Spaniard Gerardo Seeliger.

The VFPS nominated both Li and Perry for the top job, but it is not clear who the Russian body will vote for.

The first round ends on Friday (October 16).

Ukraine called on World Sailing to ban the VFPS in 2018 following a dispute linked to the crisis in Crimea.

In response, World Sailing urged the two members to resolve their row within 12 months.