Africa-Press – Lesotho. The head coach of Finland’s national ski jumping team has been sent home from the Winter Olympics after officials stated his conduct violated team rules, the country’s Olympic authorities said on Thursday.
Igor Medved, a Slovenian national who has led the Finnish team since June 2024, was dismissed from the games following behavior linked to alcohol use, the Finnish Olympic Committee said in a statement.
“It concerns matters related to alcohol use,” committee representative Janne Hanninen said, declining to provide further details but noting the incident did not occur during coaching duties or at competition venues, YLE news reported.
The Finnish Ski Association, Medved’s employer, said his future as head coach would be reviewed after the Olympics in Italy and that the immediate priority is allowing athletes to focus on competition.
In a voice message, Medved confirmed he had left the Olympic village and apologized.
“I am not proud of myself. I apologise to the athletes, coaches, support staff, the Olympic Committee, the Ski Association and the fans,” he said.
Medved explained that he attended a celebration hosted by Slovenia’s ski jumping team after it won gold in a mixed team event and said alcohol affected him more strongly because he had not eaten.
“After the competition, I was invited to Slovenia’s gold medal celebration. I hadn’t eaten anything, and after that, the alcohol did its job,” he said, adding that he would not comment further publicly.
Medved is a former ski jumper whose competitive career ended in 2003.
