Olympics expels two Belarus coaches over Krystina Timanovskaya case

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya attends a news conference in Warsaw
Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya
REUTERS

Two Belarus team coaches have been removed from the Olympics, four days after they were involved in trying to send sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya home against her will.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Friday it has cancelled and removed the credentials of Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich.

“The two coaches were requested to leave the Olympic Village immediately and have done so,” the IOC said.

It was an interim measure ahead of a formal investigation “in the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes,” the Olympic body said.

The pair had continued to have contact with Belarusian athletes since Sunday despite being linked to the plan to removed Ms Tsimanouskaya.

Tsimanouskaya had criticised team coaches on social media and is now in Poland after being granted a humanitarian visa.

It was revealed on Thursday her grandmother told her not to come home after she was told by team officials to pack her bags.

On her way to the airport, she spoke briefly to her grandmother who explained there was a backlash against her in Belarus media, including reports she was mentally ill.

The IOC said Shimak and Maisevich “will be offered an opportunity to be heard” by its disciplinary commission investigating the case.

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It is unclear if the men remain in Japan or will leave for Belarus, an authoritarian former Soviet republic that relentlessly pursues its critics.

Belarus has been in turmoil for a year since Alexander Lukashenko claimed a sixth presidential term after a state election widely viewed as rigged in his favour.

Lukashenko has also led the Belarusian Olympic committee since the 1990s until this year when his son, Viktor, was elected to replace him.

The IOC banned both Lukashenkos from attending the Tokyo Olympics after investigating complaints from athletes.

Alexander Lukashenko was previously unable to attend the London 2012 Olympics because of a European Union visa ban.

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