Two Belarusian coaches have lost their Olympic accreditations after allegedly trying to force an athlete to leave the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich have left the Olympic village. An investigation is underway concerning the case of Krystina Timanovskaya.
The case of Ms. Krystina Timanovskaya caught global attention after she refused her team’s orders to return to Belarus, after she criticized her coaches on social media. She is now in Poland, where she has been granted a humanitarian visa. Her husband has fled Belarus and was also granted a visa for Poland.
Belarus claimed that Ms. Timanovskaya was removed from the national team due to her emotional state.
In a statement the IOC confirmed that they have removed 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 IOC added that a disciplinary commission had been established to investigate the incident and that both coaches would be “offered an opportunity to be heard”.
IOC President, Thomas Bach, said during a press conference on Friday that the committee was “happy” that Ms. Timanovskaya was safely in Poland and called what happened to her “deplorable”.
Japan’s foreign ministry said that it was “unjust” and “not acceptable” that the Belarusian authorities had pressured the sprinter to fly home.
Sources: BBC
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