World Athletics suspends coach for five years in Belarus sprinter row

February 27, Pozirk. World Athletics has suspended Juryj Maisievič, former head coach of the Belarusian national track and field team, for five years after considering the case of athlete Kryścina Cimanoŭskaja.

A team leader of 31 individuals at the Tokyo Olympics, Moisevich was involved in the decision-making by Belarusian officials to withdraw the 27-year-old sprinter from the showpiece and send her back to Belarus.

The move followed Cimanoŭskaja’s social-media criticism of the coaching staff for entering her in the 4×400-metre relay – an event in which she had never competed individually or team-wise – and her criticism of the Belarus Athletics Federation.

The suspension of Maisievič is “a significant success for the rights of athletes,” said David Howman, chair of the Athletics Integrity Unit. The unit was established by World Athletics in 2017, and specializes in anti-doping. It reviewed Cimanoŭskaja’s case along with the federation’s Disciplinary Tribunal.

The tribunal found that Maisievič had breached standards of the Integrity Code of Conduct. His actions were found to be “a clear affront to the Athlete’s dignity and an abuse of . . . power”.

“This ruling represents a significant success for the rights of athletes in the sport of athletics and sends a clear signal that the Athletics Integrity Unit will do its utmost to protect those rights and the sport’s core values,” Howman said.

On August 1, 2021, Cimanoŭskaja was to be forcibly sent to her home country, but asked police for help at Tokyo airport. From Japan, she flew to Austria and then to Poland, where she now lives.

Polish President Andrzej Duda signed an act granting her citizenship in June 2023. On August 7, Cimanoŭskaja announced that she had been cleared to compete for Poland.