Former FIL President Josef Fendt has become an honorary member of the Russian Luge Federation ©FIL

Former International Luge Federation (FIL) President Josef Fendt has become an honorary member of the Russian Luge Federation (RLF).

Fendt, who led the FIL for 26 years before stepping down in 2020, received a medal of honour and a certificate from RLF Executive Board member Alexander Shakhnazarov at an event in Sochi.

The FIL said Fendt had been given the award "for his decades of service to the international sport of luge".

It added the German official was one of only two sports personalities to be made an honorary member of the RLF.

Josef Fendt led the FIL for 26 years before he stepped down in 2020 ©Getty Images
Josef Fendt led the FIL for 26 years before he stepped down in 2020 ©Getty Images

Fendt was replaced by his anointed successor Einars Fogelis of Latvia as FIL President in November 2020.

He had been at the helm of luge's worldwide governing body since 1994 prior to stepping down from the position.

Towards the end of his long tenure, Fendt, a former luge athlete who won two world titles and an Olympic silver medal at Innsbruck 1976, publicly spoke out against a blanket ban on Russian athletes at Pyeongchang 2018 following the Russian doping scandal.