A Belarusian sprinter set to seek asylum in Poland was seen entering the Polish Embassy in Tokyo on Monday after she refused a flight home that her home country was allegedly forcing her to take.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, says Belarus was trying to return her home forcibly after she criticized national sporting authorities for entering her into another race without her consent. She was set to compete in the women’s 200 meters on Monday.
Over the weekend, Tsimanouskaya approached a Japanese police officer and asked for political asylum, according to Anatol Kotau of the Belarus Sports Solidarity Foundation, who is in contact with the sprinter, per CNN.
EVERYTHING THAT’S GONE WRONG FOR THE TOKYO OLYMPICS SO FAR
Tsimanouskaya has been offered a humanitarian visa, according to Polish foreign ministry official Marcin Przydacz, who said that she “is free to pursue her sporting career in Poland if she so chooses.” Tsimanouskaya entered the Polish Embassy Monday morning, Reuters reported.
Poland ?? is ready to help Kryscina Tsimanouskaya a Belarusian athlete ordered by the Lukashenka regime to return form Olympic Games to Minsk. She was offered a humanitarian visa and is free to pursue her sporting career in Poland if she so chooses.
— Marcin Przydacz (@marcin_przydacz) August 1, 2021
The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, an activist group aiding Tsimanouskaya, bought the runner a plane ticket to Warsaw for Aug. 4, they confirmed to the Associated Press.
Tsimanouskaya previously said that she was “concerned for her safety” if she returned home.
“I am not afraid of being fired or kicked out of the national team,” she said in an interview with Belarusian sports news site Tribuna. “I’m concerned about my safety. And I think that at the moment, it is not safe for me in Belarus. I didn’t do anything, but they deprived me of the right to participate in the 200-meter race and wanted to send me home.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Belarus is led by President Alexander Lukashenko, who has run the country for 27 years. His son, Viktor Lukashenko, runs the country’s National Olympic Committee. In the past, Belarusian athletes have dealt with retaliation for criticizing the government following protests against the president, according to CNN.
The International Olympic Committee does not recognize Viktor Lukashenko as head of Belarus’s National Olympic Committee and has suspended all payments to the NOC of Belarus.
