MOSCOW — Former top-ranked tennis player Marat Safin has won a seat in Russia’s lower house of Parliament and will represent the pro-Kremlin party United Russia.
The 31-year-old Safin will be one of the youngest members in the 450-seat legislature.
Safin retired from tennis in 2009 after winning two Grand Slam titles and earning the No. 1 ranking in 2000.
Official election results released Thursday by the Central Election Committee show that boxer Nikolai Valuev and three-time Olympic champion wrestler Alexander Karelin also won seats in the Duma, where they will represent the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin-led United Russia party.
The new Duma is scheduled to convene on Dec. 21.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press