Belarus government
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, right, speaks at the opening of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. The IOC Executive Board is set to discuss the results of consultations regarding the status of athletes from Russia and Belarus in its meeting set to run until March 30. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
European lawmakers urge for Olympics ban on Russia, Belarus

By Graham Dunbar Apr. 25, 2023 02:06 PM EDT

FILE - The Olympic rings are seen on the Place du Trocadero that overlooks the Eiffel Tower, after the vote in Lima, Peru, awarding the 2024 Games to the French capital, in Paris, Sept. 13, 2017. Organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympics promised Games with a relatively modest price tag and "egalitarian" access to events, thanks to an online draw meant to revolutionize ticket sales and bring the masses to next year's Olympics with prices as low as 24 euros ($26). But as the first round of ticketing winds down, many "lucky" winners chosen for the draw are feeling frustrated, angry and cheated, as their only option during the 48-hour purchasing window was paying at least 200 euros per ticket for the few remaining events on offer. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
Britain lobbies Olympic sponsors over IOC's Russia stance

Mar. 10, 2023 07:02 PM EST

FILE - Fencers compete in the men's individual semifinal Sabre competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on July 24, 2021, in Chiba, Japan. Four national fencing federations say the International Fencing Federation has voted to allow athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus to resume competing in international events. They have been excluded for more than a year because of the invasion of Ukraine. The decision appears to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete for qualifying spots for next year’s Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Fencing votes to let Russians compete ahead of Olympics

Mar. 10, 2023 02:19 PM EST

FILE - A woman passes by the Olympic rings at the City Hall in Paris, on July 25, 2022. Latvia is threatening to boycott next year’s Paris Olympics if athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus are allowed to take part after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)
Nordic sports bodies urge IOC to ban Russian athletes

Feb. 07, 2023 07:21 AM EST

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, centre, attends a joint news conference with Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, right, and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte during their meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. The prime ministers of the three Baltic countries meet in Tallinn to discuss, among other things, joint aid efforts for Ukraine. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Ukraine pushes to exclude Russia from 2024 Paris Olympics

By Hanna Arhirova Feb. 03, 2023 08:26 AM EST

A journalist from Ukraine holds a photo of Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old former athlete on Ukraine's junior biathlon team who, according to the International Biathlon Union, died serving the Ukranian military, as he speaks during a press conference at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Russians and Belarusians at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing will compete as "neutral athletes" because of their countries' roles in the war against Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Heart-wrenching reaction to Russian athletes in Paralympics

By Stephen Wade Mar. 02, 2022 06:34 AM EST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. (Nikolay Petrov/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
Belarus hockey official banned 5 years for political abuse

By Graham Dunbar Sep. 08, 2021 09:02 AM EDT

Poland gives humanitarian visa to 2nd Belarus athlete

Sep. 05, 2021 11:40 AM EDT
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A lawmaker in Poland says a second Belarussian athlete, an equestrian who was excluded from the country's Olympic team after criticizing...

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who arrived in Poland on Wednesday fearing reprisals at home after criticizing her coaches at the Tokyo Games, holds up an Olympic-related T-shirt with the slogan "I Just Want to Run" after her news conference in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. Tsimanouskaya reached Poland by plane from Tokyo through Vienna, a circuitous route due to security concerns, days after she accused team officials of trying to force her to fly back to Belarus, where an authoritarian government has relentlessly pursued its critics. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
2 coaches removed from Tokyo Olympics in Belarus case

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 05, 2021 10:17 PM EDT

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who came to Poland fearing reprisals at home after criticizing her coaches at the Tokyo Games, holds her face mask before she talks to journalists in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Belarus runner used quick thinking to avoid being sent home

By Monika Scislowska And Daria Litvinova Aug. 05, 2021 06:35 AM EDT

FILE In this file photo taken on Friday, July 9, 2021, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, left, presents the national flag to the captain of Belarus National Olympic team Ivan Tikhon ahead of the Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo, Minsk, Belarus. Lukashenko, who has a keen interest in sports and served as the head of the Belarus National Olympic Committee for nearly a quarter-century before handing over the post to his older son in February, has sternly warned the country's Olympic athletes that they better show high performance. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)
EXPLAINER: What is behind Belarus athlete's Olympics crisis?

By Yuras Karmanau And Vladimir Isachenkov Aug. 04, 2021 03:47 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Belarus sprinter says punishment awaited her back home

By Daniel Kozin And Daria Litvinova Aug. 03, 2021 05:10 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Poland grants visa to Belarus Olympian who fears for safety

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 02, 2021 05:16 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Japan: Belarus runner involved in airport standoff is safe

By Graham Dunbar And Daniel Kozin Aug. 01, 2021 12:00 PM EDT

Viktor Lukashenko, an oldest son of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, attends the Belarusian Olympic Committee session in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Viktor Lukashenko, who advises his father on national security, was previously the national Olympic body's vice president under his father, whose disputed victory in state elections last August led to ongoing protests in the former Soviet republic. The Belarusian Olympic Committee elected the son of President Alexander Lukashenko as leader on Friday, despite both men being suspended by the IOC and barred from the Tokyo Games. (Andrei Stasevich/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
IOC denounces Belarus Olympic election of Lukashenko's son

Mar. 08, 2021 12:45 PM EST

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrive at the mountain resort of Krasnaya Polyana near the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Belarusian Olympic body elects Lukashenko's son as leader

Feb. 26, 2021 06:15 AM EST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting on the work of the economy in the current year in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
IOC suspends Belarus president Lukashenko from Olympic Games

By Graham Dunbar Dec. 07, 2020 12:29 PM EST

Belarusian pensioners wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus attend an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. Large crowds of retirees have protested in the Belarusian capital to demand the resignation of the country's authoritarian leader who won his sixth term in office in a disputed election. Over 2,000 pensioners marched down a central avenue in Minsk in what has turned into a regular Monday rally. (AP Photo)
Belarus' Olympic body faces IOC punishment amid protests

Nov. 25, 2020 03:09 PM EST

People with old Belarusian national flags gather during an opposition rally to protest the presidential inauguration in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has been sworn in to his sixth term in office at an inaugural ceremony that was not announced in advance amid weeks of huge protests saying the authoritarian leader's reelection was rigged. Hundreds took to the streets in several cities in the evening to protest the inauguration. (AP Photo/TUT.by)
IOC investigating athlete claims of reprisals in Belarus

By Graham Dunbar Oct. 07, 2020 02:38 PM EDT