© Copyright – 2021 – Athletics Illustrated
A joint statement made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Athletics (WA) Thursday, September 30 confirms the continued investigation of two Belarusian coaches.
Yuri Maisevich, the Belarus athletics head coach, and official Artur Shimak were requested to leave the Olympic Village during the Tokyo Olympic Games. Their role in the sudden departure from the Olympic village by athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is the cause for the investigation.
The Athletics Integrity Unit, which was set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency, has served to manage all integrity issues doping and non-doping issues.
A Disciplinary Commission was established by the IOC to investigate the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus (NOCRB).
Tsimanouskaya used her phone to translate a plea for help and showed it to Japanese police as she tried to avoid being forced onto a plane.
The 24-year-old was forced to miss her Olympic 200m race on Monday, Aug. 2. She alleges that Belarusian officials attempted to forcibly make her leave without her consent. Although stripped of their accreditation, Moisevich and Shumak, were still able to have contact with Belarusian athletes.
The NOCRB has been hit with several sanctions by the IOC after failing to protect athletes who had protested against President Alexander Lukashenko.
Human rights and campaign groups said the Tsimanouskaya case amounted to kidnap and urged the IOC to suspend the NOCRB.
This is not the end of the Tsimanouskaya story and is a continuation of the NOCRB’s history of run-ins with the IOC.
There is more to come from this. The AIU will report on its investigation at its conclusion.
