Iranian Swimmer Not Punished for Failing to Swim Against Israeli

An Iranian swimmer who pulled out of an Olympic race with an Israeli athlete on Saturday will not be punished after International Olympic Committee official credited the Iranian’s claim that he withdrew due to illness. Moments before the heats in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke on Saturday, Mohammad Alirezaei backed out. He was to face a field that included Tom Be’eri of Israel. A spokeswoman for the IOC, Giselle Davies, initially said Mr. Alirezaei could be disqualified from the Olympics if he refused to participate because of the Israeli competitor, but she said Monday that the committee has accepted Mr. Alirezaei’s claim that he was ill. “He confirmed this in writing to the swimming federation. We’ve also spoken with the national Olympic committee and they have underlined to us that all their athletes compete here in the right spirit against athletes from any nationality,” Ms. Davies told the Associated Press. “We take both the athlete and the national Olympic committee at their word on this,” she said.