IOC 'acted swiftly' in Belarusian athlete case
Published at : August 16, 2021
(5 Aug 2021) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday it "acted swiftly" in the case of Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya.
"We were in touch with her within hours at the airport in the evening," spokesperson Mark Adams told journalists in Tokyo.
The IOC worked with other partners, including the United Nations refugee agency, to make sure she was safe, Adams added.
Tsimanouskaya, who feared for her safety at home after criticising her coaches on social media, flew into Warsaw on Wednesday night on a humanitarian visa after leaving the Tokyo Olympics, a Polish diplomat confirmed.
In a dramatic weekend standoff at the Tokyo Games, Tsimanouskaya said Belarus team officials tried to force her to fly home early after she criticised them.
She urged the International Olympic Committee to look into the dispute and some European countries stepped in to offer assistance.
Separately, the IOC also said it's not aware of any plans to change the schedule for the women's football final between Canada and Sweden.
Both teams asked to avoid kicking off in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo's heat and humidity at 11am Friday, an almost unprecedented early start for football at any time of year.
The forecast temperature at kickoff is around 91 degrees (31 Celsius).
A later kickoff time would risk a clash with the track and field program in the stadium later on Friday, though other venues in Tokyo have been used for Olympic football and seem available.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said he "can't shed any more light" on the process of moving the game.
Changes to the Olympic schedule involve the IOC, Tokyo officials, sports bodies like soccer's FIFA and broadcasters.
At the daily news conference, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee spokesperson Masa Tanaka apologised for introducing Ukrainian athletes as Russians at an artistic swimming medal ceremony.
Tanaka said it was "purely an operational mistake" when he announced the apology.
The error is more sensitive because of diplomatic tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
The Ukrainian region of Crimea was annexed by Russia soon after the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and the conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists continues.
The artistic swimming duet competition was won late on Wednesday by the Russian Olympic Committee athletes Svetlana Romashina and Svetlana Kolesnichenko.
The Ukrainian duo of Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk took bronze but were announced at the podium as representing the ROC.
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"We were in touch with her within hours at the airport in the evening," spokesperson Mark Adams told journalists in Tokyo.
The IOC worked with other partners, including the United Nations refugee agency, to make sure she was safe, Adams added.
Tsimanouskaya, who feared for her safety at home after criticising her coaches on social media, flew into Warsaw on Wednesday night on a humanitarian visa after leaving the Tokyo Olympics, a Polish diplomat confirmed.
In a dramatic weekend standoff at the Tokyo Games, Tsimanouskaya said Belarus team officials tried to force her to fly home early after she criticised them.
She urged the International Olympic Committee to look into the dispute and some European countries stepped in to offer assistance.
Separately, the IOC also said it's not aware of any plans to change the schedule for the women's football final between Canada and Sweden.
Both teams asked to avoid kicking off in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo's heat and humidity at 11am Friday, an almost unprecedented early start for football at any time of year.
The forecast temperature at kickoff is around 91 degrees (31 Celsius).
A later kickoff time would risk a clash with the track and field program in the stadium later on Friday, though other venues in Tokyo have been used for Olympic football and seem available.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said he "can't shed any more light" on the process of moving the game.
Changes to the Olympic schedule involve the IOC, Tokyo officials, sports bodies like soccer's FIFA and broadcasters.
At the daily news conference, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee spokesperson Masa Tanaka apologised for introducing Ukrainian athletes as Russians at an artistic swimming medal ceremony.
Tanaka said it was "purely an operational mistake" when he announced the apology.
The error is more sensitive because of diplomatic tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
The Ukrainian region of Crimea was annexed by Russia soon after the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and the conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists continues.
The artistic swimming duet competition was won late on Wednesday by the Russian Olympic Committee athletes Svetlana Romashina and Svetlana Kolesnichenko.
The Ukrainian duo of Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk took bronze but were announced at the podium as representing the ROC.
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You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/1bcafb9e7bc84acea79a8528152be4db
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