The incident took place during the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and involved Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who in consequence defected to Poland.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which oversees disciplinary procedures in track and field, announced the charges against coach Yury Maisevich in a statement on Thursday, alleging he broke rules in the sport’s integrity code of conduct involving honesty, dignity and protecting reputation, the PAP news agency reported.
Maisevich’s failed efforts during the Tokyo Olympics to force Tsimanouskaya to return home after she was critical of the Belarus team made international headlines.
In a video message posted on social media during the incident, Tsimanouskaya claimed she had been pressured by team officials to leave the Tokyo event and asked the International Olympic Committee for help.
As she was being guided through the Tokyo airport by Belarusian team officials, Tsimanouskaya spoke on the phone to her grandmother, who told her not to come back because of the backlash against her in local state-run media at the time of strongman Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on dissent.
“The AIU alleges that, in respect of these circumstances of Tsimanouskaya’s removal from the Olympic Games, Maisevich did not act with integrity and acted in bad faith,” the statement said, as quoted by PAP.
It added that Maisevich "failed to safeguard the athlete’s dignity and his actions constituted verbal and mental harassment."
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in the summer of 2021 offered his country's “support and solidarity” to Tsimanouskaya, who took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo.
She then travelled to Poland on a humanitarian visa. Not long after, she announced that she would stay in Poland and focus on her sports career.
"I have decided to stay in Poland and compete for the Polish national team," she said at the time.
After obtaining Polish citizenship Tsimanouskaya said she hoped to represent the country at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
(mo/gs)
Source: PAP