Tokyo Olympics 2021: Kidnaps, drugs and booze: Olympic controversy
It wouldn’t be an Olympics without controversy and Tokyo provided plenty. Here are the biggest moments.
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Two Belarusian coaches have been stripped of their Tokyo Olympics passes over an alleged attempt to force a sprinter to fly home after she criticised team officials.
The International Olympic Committee said it had removed the accreditations of Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich and they had left the Olympic Village.
The body said this week that it was investigating the pair over their role in the case of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought protection to avoid being put on a plane home.
The IOC said the two coaches “will be offered an opportunity to be heard” but that the measures against them were taken “in the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes” from Belarus who are still in Tokyo.
It comes after Tsimanouskaya landed in Poland on Wednesday (local time), where she is to take refuge after saying she feared for her life if forced to return home.
The 24-year-old athlete has been at the centre of a diplomatic drama in the middle of the Games since seeking the protection of Tokyo 2020 staff on Sunday, saying her team was trying to bundle her onto a plane after she publicly criticised her coaches.
In an interview with Reuters after she arrived in Poland, Tsimanouskaya said she decided to defect because her grandmother told her it was not safe to return to her home country.
She said her family feared she would be sent to a psychiatric ward if she went back to Belarus.
“Grandmother called me when they were already driving me to the airport,” Tsimanouskaya told Reuters. “Literally, I had some 10 seconds. She called me, all that she told me was: ‘Please do not come back to Belarus, it’s not safe’.
“That’s it, she hung up,” she said. “I would want to return to Belarus. I love my country. I did not betray it and I hope I will be able to return.”
Tsimanouskaya said she was not politically active and had not signed any letters or spoken out against the Belarusian government.
In an unexpected twist on Wednesday, the athlete made a last-minute switch and decided not to board her flight to Warsaw, which has granted her a humanitarian visa, instead taking a plane to the Austrian capital.
She was welcomed at Vienna airport by government minister Magnus Brunner. Brunner told reporters afterwards that her route from Japan had been changed for “security reasons”.
Brunner said she had seemed “well, considering the circumstances”.
“She is worried about her family. She is tired and naturally she is tense after what has happened over the past few days,” Brunner said, adding she was “nervous about how things will progress forward now”.
Tsimanouskaya then took a second flight, operated by Polish airline LOT, which landed in Warsaw at 8.11 pm (4.11am on Thursday, AEST).
Tsimanouskaya “has safely landed in Warsaw,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz tweeted.
After landing, she did not exit through the regular passenger arrivals terminal but she did meet with Belarusian opposition figure Pavel Latushka in the airport building.
“We hope that the agony of the regime will soon end and Kristina will be able to return to conquering new sports peaks in the New Belarus,” he wrote in a tweet with a picture showing the two of them.
Before leaving Tokyo, Tsimanouskaya spent two nights sheltering in the Polish embassy there after calling for international help.
Belarus has been wracked by political upheaval and a crackdown on dissent after disputed elections that returned strongman Alexander Lukashenko to power last year.
Tsimanouskaya was one of more than 2,000 Belarusian sports figures who signed an open letter calling for new elections and for political prisoners to be freed.
But her trouble in Tokyo came after she posted on her Instagram, criticising her coaches for entering her into a race without informing her first.
Her husband Arseny Zdanevich has fled to Ukraine and on Wednesday the Polish government said he had also been given a humanitarian visa.
The pair are expected to meet up in Poland, a staunch critic of Lukashenko’s regime and home to a growing number of dissidents.
“I have successfully received a visa and am very grateful to the Polish ambassador for helping me so quickly,” Zdanevich said.
The International Olympic Committee has said it will investigate Belarus’s Olympic team, as activists call for the country’s Olympic committee to be suspended and its athletes to compete as neutrals.
Lukashenko and his son Viktor have been banned from Olympic events over the targeting of athletes for their political views.
Shortly before the Tokyo Games, Lukashenko warned sports officials and athletes that he expected results in Japan.
“Think about it before going,” he said. “If you come back with nothing, it’s better for you not to come back at all.” The alleged attempt to return Tsimanouskaya to Belarus has prompted condemnation, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing Minsk of “another act of transnational repression”.
RUSSIA CLAIMS OF CHEATING
Russians expressed outrage Saturday over what they said was “biased” judging in the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final after Israel’s Linoy Ashram claimed a victory over three-time world champion Dina Averina, ending two decades of Russian dominance.
The head of Russia’s Olympic Committee said the country would lodge a complaint with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
“We have decided that we will not close our eyes to this situation. We are already preparing an official appeal to the international federation,” Stanislav Pozdnyakov said in a statement on Instagram.
“We would like to receive an explanation over a whole number of issues,” he added, taking issue with “judging.” Earlier Saturday Israel’s Ashram claimed victory in the despite a mistake in her closing ribbon routine.
It is the first time a Russian has failed to win the event since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and is arguably one of the biggest surprises in the sport’s history.
Averina said she did not think “it was fair today”.
Prominent Russians accused the judges of bias.
“Dina didn’t lose, she won. But unfortunately the judging was egregiously unjust,” Irina Viner, president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, said in comments to RT, a Kremlin-backed TV channel.
“It was simply a disgrace to rhythmic gymnastics,” said the coach. Viner claimed that the judges supported Ashram.
“Enough, they got tired of Russia. And the judges decided to support this Israeli woman.” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova fumed, accusing the judges of committing “forgery in front of the whole world.” “Those who started the Russophobic war against the sport could not allow this victory,” Zakharova said on messaging app Telegram.
Prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova also chimed in, calling Saturday’s judging a form of “banditry.” “I can’t stress enough how unbelievably biased and unfair it was!” she said in a post on Instagram in English.
IOC delay the announcement of positive drug cases
The International Olympic Committee has been accused of delaying the release of positive drug cases until after the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.
Just three athletes have had positive cases in Tokyo, all discovered during out of competition blood and urine testing before their Olympic events.
Swimmers, rowers and track and field athletes from the United States, Australia and China have been most tested throughout the first half of the Games, official data shows.
So far, there have been no positive tests returned by medallists and those targeted during their Olympic competition. This is despite suspicion surrounding a number of a surprise performances in the pool and on the track. A drugs testing insider said that the IOC doesn’t want bad news during the Tokyo Olympics, which has been a challenging logistic exercise because of the pandemic rules.
It is understood that there may be at least three drugs cases during Olympic competition that have not yet been announced, including a competitor in the triathlon discipline.
“From the IOC’s point of view these are the clean games, but this is pretty strange and is disrespectful to the other athletes. Let’s see what the next six weeks brings,’’ the drugs expert said.
The Times in London reported that one of the most high profile Olympic winners, the 100m gold medal winner Lamont Marcell Jacobs has been historically linked to a sports nutritionist who is the subject of a police investigation into the illegal distribution of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone.
Jacobs only beat the 10 second barrier in May this year and wasn’t on the radar of the Athletics Integrity Unit’s drug testing pool.
PROTEST RISKS SANCTION
US shot putter Raven Saunders has risked disciplinary action after making the first podium protest of the Olympic Games.
The 25-year-old African-American athlete crossed her arms in an “X” gesture during Sunday’s medal ceremony at the Olympic Stadium after claiming silver in her event earlier in the day.
US media outlets reported that Saunders, who is black and an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, said her gesture was made in solidarity with “oppressed people”.
After clinching her silver medal on Sunday, Saunders said she wanted to represent “people all around the world who are fighting and don’t have the platform to speak up for themselves.” Saunders’ protest is the first test of International Olympic Committee rules which ban protests of any kind on the medal podium at the Olympics.
The IOC tweaked its rules regarding athlete protests ahead of the games, saying that peaceful protests before competition would be allowed.
However the Olympics governing body has maintained a strict rule against protesting on the medal podium.
It is unclear what sanction if any Saunders may face.
Updated IOC guidelines released last month say that disciplinary consequences for protests will be “proportionate to the level of disruption and the degree to which the infraction is not compatible with Olympic values.” The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said before the games it will not sanction its athletes for protesting.
The USOPC softened its approach to athletes protesting on the podium after a review of rules following nationwide protests in the United States last year in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
Experts say the IOC is unlikely to take a heavy-handed approach against athletes for protesting in Tokyo, mindful of the possible public relations backlash that would likely follow any sanction.
ANIMAL CRUELTY MARS COMPETITION
A German modern pentathlon coach has been thrown out of the Tokyo Olympics for cruelty to a horse.
Kim Raisner, the coach of German Annika Schleu, has been stripped of her Olympic accreditation for striking the horse allocated to Schleu called Saint Boy.
The world modern pentathlon authority, UIPM said in a statement: “The UIPM Executive Board has given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The executive board reviewed video footage that showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu, with her fist during the riding discipline of the women’s modern pentathlon competition.”
Schleu, 31, had gone into the show jumping leg of the event in first place but her chances of a medal swiftly evaporated, when Saint Boy wouldn’t jump.
An issue was first apparent when coverage appeared to show Schleu in floods of tears before the ride had even started.
She desperately tried to get her horse to co-operate.
Eventually she managed to get Saint Boy to enter the arena.
The horse did clear four sets of hurdles when the ride finally got going.
But after colliding with the fifth, Saint Boy had evidently had enough.
Tearful Schleu had another go at getting around the course, but Saint Boy again refused and became visibly more distressed.
Where things took a turn was the overuse of her whip, incessant kicking and tightening of the reins causing the animal to appear even more panicked.
Her coach could be heard screaming “kick it more” from the sideline before vision showed her punching the animal on the hind leg.
WHY THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL IMAGE OF THE OLYMPICS
A silent and simple gesture with massive impact. Three American athletes wore pink masks to stand against a teammate accused of sexual assault. That man is standing next to them.
Alen Hadzic is representing the United States at the Olympic Games. He has also been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, and has been separated from the rest of the athletes in Tokyo.
Hadzic’s three teammates on the U.S. men’s épée team – Jake Hoyle, Curtis McDowald and Yeisser Ramirez – wore pink masks in apparent protest of Hadzic before their matchup against Japan on Friday.
Many protesters have previously used pink objects to express support of women.
Hadzic did not wear a pink mask. He also did not compete, as he was on the team as an alternate. The U.S. lost 45-39 to Japan, clinching the Americans’ ninth-place finish.
Hadzic was suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport on June 2 after three women accused him of sexual assault on three different occasions. An arbitrator overturned the suspension on June 29 after Hadzic appealed, meaning the fencer was allowed to attend the Olympics.
“I think one case is enough for you to not be allowed to compete at the f — ing Olympics,” one of his accusers told USA Today anonymously.
“It really makes you question how far someone needs to go in order for them not to be able to compete.’’ While he was allowed to attend, a “safety plan” was put in place. Hadzic was barred from the Olympic Village – he had to stay in a nearby hotel – and was required to fly to Tokyo by himself.
USA Fencing, along with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, imposed the restrictions.
USA Fencing was not in support of Hadzic – a graduate of Montclair High School in Montclair, N.J. – attending the Olympics.
AUSTRALIAN TEAMS UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER WILD JAPAN AIRLINES FLIGHT
Australian chef de mission Ian Chesterman said he is disappointed with the athletes involved in Friday’s drunken flight home, as an investigation continues.
Mr Chesterman said staff at Japan Airlines had advised him that “team members had drunk excessively’’ and failed to respond to instructions from JAL staff while disrupting other passengers.
He said there were 49 team members from nine sports on the flight.
He said that on Tuesday afternoon, both rugby and football officials had issued public statements apologising for the behaviour of their members.
Football Australia and Rugby Australia have advised they have started formal investigations.
“The AOC considers it is appropriate to wait for the conclusion of this process before deciding next steps,” Mr Chesterman said.
“Can I also say how deeply disappointed I am in this behaviour.
“This is a proud team, performing brilliantly after a very, very challenging preparation.
“And the vast, vast majority have conducted themselves superbly both on and off the field.’’
Canadian coach fired over rugby tweets
A Canadian rugby coach has been fired over a series of tweets taking aim at the Canadian rugby 7s team in Tokyo.
Jamie Cudmore, who had been running Rugby Canada’s national development program, tweeted several messages seemingly aimed at the team, including one that read “Karma is a bitch! #survivorsmyass”, after the team was knocked out of medal contention.
The tweet has since been deleted.
The posts sparked outrage from the rugby world and led to Sevens veteran Charity Williams hitting out on Instagram.
Players of the 🇨🇦 rugby 7s team have shared tweets, now deleted, of a Rugby Canada coach who was taunting them on Twitter after their loss this morning. They say they’ve been experiencing this since they filed a complaint with their governing body in January @CBCOlympicspic.twitter.com/IBD3Za3D8I
— Kim Vallière (@KimValliereSRC) July 30, 2021
“What we accomplished this year is far greater than one weekend,” Williams wrote.
“But instead I have to sit here, once again, and share what we’ve been going through as a team. The consistent hatred we have received from people in our own organisation,” Williams wrote. I’m only sharing because this is what we have been dealing with for months.
“From private texts, to public stalking online and in person. The bullying and harassment that we have received for coming forward is outrageous and scary at times. This is the reason we called for an internal investigation because we haven’t been safe.”
Captain Ghislaine Landry also commented.
I would like to apologize for the tweets posted last night. It’s was an emotional event for a good friend and I let that get the better of me. I’ve always played/coached with my heart on my sleeve for this great country 🇨🇦 I’m sorry if I’ve offended anyone.
— Jamie Cudmore (@JNCudmore) July 30, 2021
“We always knew this was about more than rugby, about more than one tournament, even if it’s the Olympics,” Landry wrote.
“We knew the last nine months might put our Olympic dream in jeopardy, we had that discussion as a group, and still the decision was clear. We were ready to put our dreams at risk for change.
“This has not been a distraction but it has taken a toll on us. And so, while we are heartbroken not to have been able to play our best, we are proud and united.”
Cudmore has since apologised in a follow up tweet.
“I would like to apologise for the tweets posted last night,” he wrote.
“It was an emotional event for a good friend and I let that get the better of me. I’ve always played/coached with my heart on my sleeve for this great country.
“I’m sorry if I’ve offended anyone.”
Rugby Canada responded quickly to the controversy.
“We are taking this matter very seriously and concluded that immediate action must be taken,” Rugby Canada CEO Allen Vansen said in a statement.
UNVACCINATED SWIMMER UNDER FIRE FOR MASKLESS INTERVIEW
An unvaccinated swimmer for Team USA made waves out of the Tokyo Olympics’ pool Friday for not wearing a mask during interviews with reporters following a disappointing finish.
The decision by Michael Andrew – a 22-year-old first-time Olympian from California – drew an initial rebuke from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which said it violated COVID-19 mitigation measures at the 2020 Games.
But USOPC officials reversed course just hours later after determining he wasn’t bucking the public safety protocols after all.
“Michael has been reminded of the Games policy and established Covid mitigation protocols, and has acknowledged the importance of following all guidelines intended to keep athletes and the community safe,” USOPC officials said.
A columnist for the newspaper tweeted photos of a maskless Andrew — who has been dubbed the “highest profile unvaccinated” American Olympian — in the mixed zone, where journalists can speak with athletes after events. He had just finished fifth in the men’s 200-meter individual medley.
“Every other swimmer I’ve seen all week has worn one,” USA Today columnist Christine Brennan tweeted.
USOPC officials later sent USA Today its statement before shifting its stance hours later.
“We are currently reviewing this matter with the National Governing Body and will take action as needed,” USOPC officials told the newspaper.
“For me, it’s pretty hard to breathe in after kind of sacrificing my body in the water, so I feel like my health is a little more tied to being able to breathe than protecting what’s coming out of my mouth,” Andrew told USA Today when asked about his choice.
Andrew went on to say that while it’s “great that there’s procedures,” all of the Olympians in Tokyo have been subjected to the same quarantine procedures and virus screenings.
“So there’s a level of safety [that’s] comfortable when we’re racing,” Andrew said.
Asked why he chose to be the lone American not wearing a mask, the 6-foot-6 swimmer said: “No reason. I’ll throw it on when I’m done here, but to speak, it’s difficult, probably people can hear me.”
In a separate column, Brennan blasted Andrew as an “ugly American” who put his personal choice above public health.
“Translation: I couldn’t care less about you, or the pandemic, or the fact that I’m not vaccinated,” Brennan wrote. “This is all about me.”
Brennan said the unvaccinated Andrew had been a “bust” at the Olympics thus far, failing to medal in his first two events. He previously contracted a mild case of COVID-19 in December, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“I didn’t want to put anything into my body that I didn’t know how I would potentially react to,” Andrew told the newspaper earlier this month.
“I didn’t want to risk any days out.”
Andrew, who has said he has no plans to get vaccinated, had hoped to break fellow American Ryan Lochte’s record in Friday’s 200-meter IM, but failed to reach that goal after leading the race after 150 meters. He finished fourth earlier this week in the 100-meter backstroke and is set to swim again Friday night in the 50-meter freestyle preliminaries.
— Joshua Rhett Miller, NY Post
RUSSIA SLAMS ACCUSATIONS OF DOPING
The Russian Olympic Committee did not take kindly to insinuations of doping among their athletes.
American swimmer Ryan Murphy sounded off after his second loss to Evgeny Rylov this week at the 2021 Olympics, calling it a “huge mental drain” to be in a race “that’s probably not clean.”
The ROC tweeted out a mocking response that seemed aimed at Murphy and other competitors who have bemoaned the Russian athletes’ presence in Tokyo.
“English propaganda is oozing verbal sweat onto the Tokyo Games. Through the mouths of athletes offended by defeats,” the ROC tweeted.
“We will not console you. We’ll forgive those who are weaker. God is their judge. He is our helper.”
SPRINTERS BARRED FROM OLYMPICS AFTER FAILED TESTS
Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare and Kenyan 100 metres specialist Mark Odhiambo were thrown out of the Tokyo Olympics after failing doping tests.
Okagbare, who was due to have run in the semi-finals of the women’s 100m on Saturday, tested positive for human growth hormone.
Okagbare, 32, a silver medallist in the long jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, failed the test on July 19, four days before the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.
Odhiambo was to have lined up for the heats of the men’s 100m but he has been suspended after testing positive for anabolic steroids, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said.
“The athlete … has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter in line with World Anti-Doping Code and the IOC Anti-Doping Rules,” the ITA said in a statement.
The 28-year-old Odhiambo, who has a best time of 10.05sec, has challenged the result and the case has been referred to the anti-doping division of the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Kenya is in category ‘A’ of the World Anti-Doping Agency watchlist of countries considered to be the highest doping risk and its athletes must undergo rigorous testing to be eligible to compete at the Olympics and world championships.
Kenyan sports principal secretary Joe Okudo said the ministry had received an official report about the adverse analytical findings on the samples collected from the athlete on July 28, while he was in the Olympic Village.
“The Ministry is still waiting for the conclusion of an appeal filed by the athlete and underscores the Government’s commitment in the fight against doping,” Okudo said.
Doping has had a profound effect on Kenya’s most successful sport with over 60 athletes suspended in the last five years for offences that include failures to declare their whereabouts to anti-doping testers.
Two runners who had failed to meet the requirements were left out of the Kenyan squad before their departure for Tokyo.
Among the top athletes to be sanctioned for doping offences are the 2016 Olympic women’s marathon champion Jemima Sumgong, the 2008 men’s 1500m gold medallist Asbel Kiprop and former three-time Boston marathon winner Rita Jeptoo.
OLYMPIC DOPING ROW AS 20 ATHLETES BOOTED
A doping war has broken out at the Tokyo Olympics after half the Nigerian team was struck off the start lists and athletes from five other countries have also had their campaigns ended.
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has admitted “lapses” on its part over the disqualification of 10 athletes from Tokyo for not complying with out-of-competition drug testing requirements.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had announced the disqualification of the Nigerian athletes.
“The AFN bears responsibility for any lapses that may have occurred during the process and reassures Nigerians that our performances (at Tokyo Olympics) will not be negatively impacted,” it said in a statement.
“All our athletes resident in Nigeria and who qualified for the Olympic Games completed the three mandatory tests,” it said.
“Most of our top athletes resident in the USA also completed their tests,” the AFN said.
“However, a few athletes in the American collegiate system were tested, but those tests were deemed not to have complied with WADA (world anti-doping agency) sample collection and analysis standards.”
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