Kolobkov, 41, who competed in five consecutive Olympics was given the role by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov, who is also the President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), who made the announcement to coincide with the start of the Chef de Missions seminar for London 2012 today.

Kolobkov competed in five consecutive Games after making his Olympic debut for the Soviet Union at Seoul in 1988 where he won a bronze medal in the epee team event.

In Barcelona four years later, reperesenting the Unified Team, he won a silver medal in the individual event and bronze in the team.

At Atlanta in 1996 - by which time he was competing under the Russian flag -  he took silver in the team event.

At Sydney in 2000 he finally won a gold medal in the individual event before bringing down the curtain on an outstanding Olympic career with a  bronze in the team competition, taking his total to six medals.

Kolobkov was named as Russia's Deputy Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy last year. 

"I think it was a logical decision as I have the knowledge and many years of Olympic experience as an athlete," said Kolobkov.

Russia took 455 athletes to Beijing in 2008 and finished third overall in the medals table with a total of 73 medals, including 23 gold.

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