
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that two Belarusian coaches have been expelled from the ongoing Tokyo Olympics after allegedly striving to force an athlete, Kristina Timanovskaya to leave the games.
IOC confirmed that Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich had left the Games. They were involved in the attempt to force the Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya to return to Belarus against her will.
In a statement, the IOC said it had lifted the accreditations of the two coaches “as a provisional measure… in the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus who are still in Tokyo”.
The body added, “A disciplinary commission had been established to investigate the incident and that both coaches would be “offered an opportunity to be heard.”
The case of Krystina Timanovskaya caught global notice after she rejected her team’s orders to fly home.
She is now in Poland, where she has been granted a humanitarian visa.
Belarus says she was removed from the national team because of her emotional state. But the 24-year-old says this is not true.
She said, “I was removed because she spoke on Instagram about the negligence of [her] coaches.”
Ms Timanovskaya’s dismissal came after the sprinter complained on social media about being entered into the 4x400m relay race at short notice after some teammates were found to be ineligible to compete.
She further told that two coaches came into her room and told her to pack her bags immediately. She was told to say that she had been injured.
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