Coach who tried to force Olympic sprinter back to Belarus lands five-year ban

An Olympic coach who tried to force sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya home from the Tokyo Games to Belarus, where she feared for her safety, was banned from the sport for five years on Tuesday.

Yury Moisevich’s actions in Tokyo were deemed “a clear insult to the athlete’s dignity and an abuse of … power,” the Athletics Integrity Unit said. He was also found guilty of “providing false or inaccurate information during the events preceding the athlete’s departure from the Olympic Village” in August 2021. The 63-year-old coach has been banned from working in athletics until February 2029. .

Tsimanouskaya’s ordeal became a diplomatic incident during the second half of the Tokyo Olympics. She took to social media during the Games to question why she had been entered into the 4×400 relay without her knowledge and despite never having competed in the event. The Belarusian athletics team had lost some athletes due to doping problems. Coaches decided to send her home and she was escorted by team officials to Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

At the airport, Tsimanouskaya spoke on the phone with her grandmother, who told her about the state media’s reactions to her at home. President Alexander Lukashenko’s government had cracked down on dissent since his controversial re-election a year earlier.

Lukashenko was the long-time head of the Belarus Olympic Committee, although he was suspended by the IOC from coming to Tokyo due to widespread pro-democracy protests. Athletes in Belarus said they faced reprisals and intimidation. Belarusian athletes in Tokyo were still under the control of state-backed officials trying to get Tsimanouskaya back to Minsk.

Tsimanouskaya sought help from police at the airport, who took her away from Belarusian officials. She took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo and was granted a humanitarian visa to travel there days later. Four days after the airport event, the IOC revoked the Olympic qualifications of Moisevich, who led a team of 31 athletes in Tokyo.

The disciplinary case was aided by Tsimanouskaya because she “recorded some of her conversations with Moisevich, the contents of which served as evidence during the hearing,” the AIU said. “The dignity of all athletes is of paramount importance and every effort must be made to ensure that the environment in which they compete is free from harassment, abuse and bad faith of any kind,” said AIU President David Howman, in a statement. .

Tsimanouskaya was cleared to participate in the world championships for Poland last year. She was eliminated in the 100m heats, reached the semi-finals in the 200m and was part of the 4x100m relay team that finished fifth. Now 27, she has a chance to race for her new home country at the Olympic Games in Paris, which start at the end of July.