IOC removes Belarus coaches after they ordered sprinter to return home

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday that it had told two Belarusian coaches to leave the Olympic Village after an Olympic sprinter had been ordered to go back to Belarus.

“In the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes of the NOC of Belarus who are still in Tokyo and as a provisional measure, the IOC cancelled and removed last night the accreditations of the two coaches, Mr A. Shimak and Mr Y. Maisevich,” the IOC tweeted on Thursday.

In the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes of the NOC of Belarus who are still in Tokyo and as a provisional measure, the IOC cancelled and removed last night the accreditations of the two coaches, Mr A. Shimak and Mr Y. Maisevich. #Tokyo2020 #Olympics /2

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 5, 2021

The IOC said that the coaches left the Olympic Village following an order from the organization and said that “they will be offered an opportunity to be heard.”

The two coaches were requested to leave the Olympic Village immediately and have done so. They will be offered an opportunity to be heard. #Tokyo2020 #Olympics /3 END

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 5, 2021

Belarusian Olympic track sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya made headlines on Sunday when she said that she was being asked to return to her country against her will. 

Coaches had been upset with her following a social media video she posted on Instagram criticizing the fact that she had been placed in a 4×400-meter relay event, which she said she had not trained for.

According to an interview the sprinter gave to Reuters on Thursday, she said the officials told her she had to pack her bags and go to the airport, saying to her, “We are not the ones who made the decision, we are only executing it.”

Instead, she went to the Japanese police to seek protection and later reunited with her husband in Poland where she’s gained asylum on a humanitarian visa, Reuters and The Associated Press reported.

In the IOC’s statement on Twitter, the organization said that a disciplinary commission had been set up “to clarify the circumstances around the incident and the roles the coaches Mr Artur Shimak and Mr Yury Maisevich played.”

An IOC Disciplinary Commission has been set up in the case of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya to clarify the circumstances around the incident and the roles the coaches Mr Artur Shimak and Mr Yury Maisevich played. #Tokyo2020 #Olympics /1

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 5, 2021

The Hill has reached out to the Belarusian president’s office for comment.