The International Olympic Committee has apologised after IOC member Adam Pengilly was sent home following an incident involving a security officer at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
“The IOC wishes to apologise for the behaviour of one of its members and feels very sorry for the incident caused by Mr. Adam Pengilly,” it said in a statement.
An IOC source told AFP the 40-year-old former skeleton racer was involved in a dispute with an Olympic security guard.
After the guard attempted to block him politely, Pengilly became aggressive and used “insults and threats”, the source said.
“Following an interview with the IOC Ethics Compliance officer, he will leave the Olympic Games and South Korea with immediate effect,” the statement added.
Pengilly has apologised to the security officer involved and the IOC said it wished to thank authorities and police in South Korea for their “excellent work”.
Pengilly, a former skeleton world silver medallist, was elected a member of the IOC in 2010 and has been a vocal critic of the body’s handling of the Russian doping scandal. His IOC term ends on February 25.
He was a member of the coordination commission for the Pyeongchang Olympics and the evaluation commission for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
