IOC apologises as member banished from Olympics

The IOC apologised and said it expected better of its members after former Winter Olympian Adam Pengilly was sent home for “poor behaviour” following an altercation with a security officer at the Pyeongchang Games.

The 40-year-old former skeleton racer from Britain became aggressive and used “insults and threats” after the guard attempted to block him politely, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) source said.

“Following an interview with the IOC Ethics Compliance officer, he will leave the Olympic Games and South Korea with immediate effect,” an IOC statement said.

Pengilly, a vocal critic of the IOC’s handling of the Russian doping scandal, apologised to the security officer involved and the IOC thanked authorities and police in South Korea for their “excellent work”.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the Olympic body viewed the incident — believed to have taken place at a hotel — “very gravely” and president Thomas Bach will apologise to local organisers.

“Mr Pengilly has written a letter of apology to the security guard and the president has asked to meet the security guard and asked to meet the authorities to apologise in person,” said Adams.

“We expect members not to behave in this way and it was poor behaviour.”

The incident was caught on CCTV and pressed as to whether there was any physical contact between Pengilly and the staff member, Adams said: “My understanding is that there was some contact, yes.”

Pengilly, a former skeleton world silver medallist, was elected a member of the IOC in 2010. His IOC term ends on February 25, the last day of the Games.

He was a member of the coordination commission for the Pyeongchang Olympics and the evaluation commission for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.