August 26, 2016 (GMN) - Ethiopia's Olympic marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa will not lose his silver medal despite making a political protest as he finished the race on Sunday. He crossed his arms above his head in solidarity with protesters from his Oromo ethnic group in Ethiopia.
There were concerns that he could be sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as rule 50 of the Olympic charter bans political displays or protests.
In an email to the BBC, an IOC spokesperson said: "We spoke to the athlete and reminded him of the Olympic charter." The spokesperson added that no further action would be taken.
Speaking after the race in Rio, Lilesa explained his protest by saying: "The Ethiopian government are killing the Oromo people and taking their land and resources so the Oromo people are protesting and I support the protest as I am Oromo." He is now said to be seeking political asylum. (BBC)
