Ukraine skier, coach quit Games in protest

A Ukrainian alpine skier and her coach have pulled out of the Sochi Games in protest over the authorities' deadly use of force against demonstrators in Kiev.

Bogdana Matsotska and her coach Oleg Matsotskiy, who is also her father, said on Thursday they were outraged by the refusal of President Viktor Yanukovych to favour dialogue.

"In a sign of protest ... against the bandit-like actions against protesters, we are taking no further part in the Sochi Olympics in 2014," Oleg Matsotskiy wrote on his Facebook page in the name of himself and his daughter.

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams confirmed the pair had pulled out of the Games after the violence in Ukraine that has left at least 28 dead.

He said the head of Ukraine's Olympic Committee, former pole vault star Sergey Bubka, understood the decision of any Ukrainian athlete who wanted to leave.

But he added that Bubka thought the "best way is for the team to stay here" to show solidarity with those suffering at home.