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Two Belarusian Coaches Expelled From Olympics

Kristina Timanovskaya said she feared for her life after her coaches came to her room to coerce her to return to Belarus.

Two Belarusian coaches who attempted to coerce one of their country’s Olympic sprinters into returning to her home country have been expelled from the Tokyo Games. Artur Shimak and Yuri Moisevich had their credentials stripped and were told to leave the Olympic Village. Kristina Timanovskaya, a 200-meter runner, wrote an Instagram post criticizing her country’s preparations for the games last week, after which she said she was “kidnapped” and feared for her life should she return home. She said her coaches had entered her into the 4x400 relay because they failed to test enough other athletes for doping, and then the two coaches came to her room to notify her she would not be competing and persuade her to return to Belarus, a conversation she recorded. Timanovskaya refused to board a flight back to Belarus at Narita International Airport and has since sought sanctuary in Poland, which has given her a humanitarian visa.