BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- A few months ago , it seemed liked nothing could stop Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussain from representing her country in the upcoming Summer Olympics . Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussain was devastated to learn she could not participate in the Beijing Summer Olympics . Then , the International Olympic Committee banned Iraq from competing because of what it says is the government 's political interference in sports . Hussain cried for hours after hearing the news , which arrived in the form of a letter to Iraqi officials . `` She has n't stopped . It 's like finding out that a close relative has died , '' said her coach , Yousif Abdul Rahman . Abdul Rahman attempted to console Hussain by assuring her that she could compete in the 2012 Olympics . Watch Hussain react to the news » . `` In this horrible situation , '' she said , `` who can say I 'll even be alive in 2012 ? '' CNN received a copy of the letter sent to Jassim Mohammed Jaffer , Iraqi minister of youth and sports , and Ali Mohsen Ismail , acting secretary general of the Iraqi general secretariat of the Council of Ministers . `` We deeply regret this outcome , which severely harms the Iraqi Olympic and Sports Movement and the Iraqi athletes , but which is unfortunately imposed by the circumstances , '' said the letter , signed by two IOC officials . Watch an official explain the decision » . The move stems from an Iraqi government decision in May to suspend the nation 's Olympic Committee and form a temporary committee to handle its duties . The Iraqi government thought the committee had not been operating properly and as a result undermined the sporting movement there . The government said the original committee held meetings without quorums and had officials serving in one-year posts for more than five years . Many of the officials also lived outside Iraq , the government said . iReport.com : See a cartoonist 's take on the decision . Emmanuelle Moreau , a spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee , said it suspended Iraq 's national Olympic Committee in June after the government removed elected officials and put in people the IOC did n't recognize . She said the IOC proposed to the Iraqi government that officials come to the organization 's headquarters in Lausanne , Switzerland , `` to discuss possible solutions . '' But she said they did n't respond . `` We 're extremely disappointed with the situation . The athletes have been ill-served by the government in Iraq , '' she said . Moreau said Iraq missed a Wednesday deadline for the entry of athletes to compete in archery , judo , rowing and weightlifting . Watch a historian discuss the Olympics in Iraq under Saddam Hussein » . She said there is a chance that track and field athletes could compete if the original committee is reinstated . The deadline for the track team to register is at the end of the month . The Games begin August 8 . A former official from the disbanded Iraq Olympic Committee said the IOC 's decision was justified because the government interfered with the national committee by suspending it . The former official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject . He said he believed that the government suspended the committee out of `` jealousy . '' The national committee was making great strides , and the government , namely the Ministry of Youth and Sports , wanted control of it , he said . The seven Iraqi athletes who were to travel to China for the Games ' start in August are disappointed by the decision , officials said . They include an archer , a weightlifter , a judoka , two rowers and two sprinters , one of whom is Dana Hussain . Her coach called the decision unfair and said he blames `` everyone '' : the Iraqi government and the Iraqi and International Olympic committees . In the end , Abdul Rahman said , the athletes are paying the price . `` It 's a shame after all the efforts , ambitions , risks and dangers , '' he said . `` I wish from the bottom of my heart they would reconsider this unjust decision for the sake of the athletes . '' CNN 's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report .
NEW : Iraqi government interference in Olympic committee attributed to `` jealousy '' International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said on Friday that the Iraq Football Association had been involved with a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics and was trying to sabotage it. Iraqi government suspended nation 's Olympic Committee in May . Seven Iraqi athletes were to compete in Beijing , China .