The International Olympic Comittee (IOC) and World Athletics promised on Thursday to pursue the case of Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya, who refused to return home from Tokyo Olympic Games, saying they would open an investigation into the conduct of the sprinter's coaches
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2021) The International Olympic Comittee (IOC) and World Athletics promised on Thursday to pursue the case of Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya, who refused to return home from Tokyo Olympic Games, saying they would open an investigation into the conduct of the sprinter's coaches.
Following the incident, the IOC canceled and removed the accreditation of Timanovskaya's coaches during the Olympics.
"Further to the incident involving Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the decision taken by the IOC to cancel and remove the accreditations of the two coaches, Messrs A. Shimak and Y. Maisevich,... agreed to continue the investigation and to open a formal procedure vis-à-vis the two aforementioned coaches," the IOC said in a statement.
The procedure is to be conducted by the independent unit, established by World Athletics, Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which deals with various integrity issues. The AIU will make the conclusions public, as soon as the investigation is completed, the IOC added.
Timanovskaya was to compete in the women's 100 meter and 200 meter relays on August 2. The Belarusian sports authorities entered the athlete in the 4x400m relay without her consent. Belarus said it was concerned about Timanovskaya's mental condition, but she stated the authorities tried to send her back to cover up their poor performance.
The athlete refused to fly back to Belarus. Poland granted humanitarian visas to Timanovskaya and her husband.
