Members of the Delegation of Belarus at the Olympic Games in Beijing are allowed to communicate only with media representatives accredited by the Belarusian National Olympic Committee. This is reported by «Match TV» citing a source familiar with the situation.
The Olympics in Beijing will be held from February 4 to 20. Belarus is represented by 29 athletes in six sports: biathlon, alpine skiing, speed skating, cross-country skiing, figure skating, freestyle. The Belarusian Olympic team is headed by Aliaksandr Gagiev, the director of the Republican Center for Olympic Training in Winter Sports «Raubichy.» The International Olympic Committee suspended representatives of the NOC of Belarus, including the head of the NOC Viktar Lukashenka, from all its events, including the Olympic Games.
Belarus’ participation in the Summer Games in Tokyo was marked by a scandal with runner Krystsina Tsimanouskaya. She criticized the leadership of the athletics team at the Olympic Games when she learned that she was put to run the 4×400-meter relay without her knowledge due to the fact that two athletes did not receive admission because they did not have the necessary doping tests. The NOC stated that she was suspended from participating in the games due to her emotional and psychological state. On August 1, they tried to send Timanovskaya from Tokyo to Belarus, but the athlete refused to leave and turned to the Japanese police at the airport. She said she was afraid to return to her homeland. Two days later, Tsimanouskaya flew to Poland, which offered her political asylum. Her husband, also an athlete, also went to live with her, since then the couple has been living in Warsaw. An investigation into the incident in Tokyo continues.
Source: Reform.by
