Belarusian Olympic sprinter seeks refuge in Japan after publicly criticising coach

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystina Tsimanouskaya, a critic of the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko's regime, was being taken to the airport against her will on Sunday to board a flight back home to Belarus after she publicly spoke about the “negligence” against the Olympic games coaches. “I will not return to Belarus,” she said in a statement on Telegram, published by the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation (BSSF).

Tsimanouskaya was due to finish the women’s 200 meters when she had complained about the coaches and their careless practices. As she was forced to exit Japan immediately, she sought assistance from the Japanese police at Tokyo’s Haneda airport where she was being coerced to board the plane. 

Belarussian Olympics sprinter seeks refuse in Japan

In an official statement Sunday, Belarusian Olympic Committee stated that the unanimous decision was reached to dismiss the Belarusian player from the Olympics. The authorities cited the reason for dismissal as Tsimanouskaya’s “emotional” and “psychological state” as they alleged that the player wasn’t fit for continuing her participation in the global game. As the Belarusian player was seen taken to the airport forcibly repatriated to Belarus,  she caused an international sensation.

"I am safe,” Tsimanouskaya later confirmed in a statement while she was photographed standing next to the Japanese cops. “I’m with the police,” the latter told the reporters that had flocked the airport amid the controversy on July 31.

Kristina Timanovskaya vocal critic of Alexader Lukashenko

Furthermore, the ousted Olympic player stated that the police were in the process of deciding where she was going to spend the night. The  24-year-old elaborated that she was asked to leave after her criticism of Belarus's athletics federation after they entered her in the relay race without notifying her first. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Poland condemned the alleged abduction of the Belarusian sprinter as he posted on Twitter: "Poland is ready to help Krystina Tsimanouskaya a Belarusian athlete ordered by the Lukashenka regime to return from Olympic Games to Minsk. She was offered a humanitarian visa and is free to pursue her sporting career in Poland if she so chooses."

"It turns out our great bosses as always decided everything for us," she wrote in her now disappeared Instagram story. “I’m asking the International Olympic Committee for help,” she said in a video posted 

In a separate Instagram post, Tsimanouskaya continued that she was handed an explanation for why she wasn't given a notice first, perhaps she wouldn’t have "reacted so harshly". "If I had been told in advance, explained the whole situation, and asked if I was able to run 400 meters, I wouldn't have reacted," she said. "But they decided to do everything behind my back,” the Belarus player added.

[Credit: Twitter/@BelDiasporaAt]

Meanwhile, the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) said on its Telegram channel that it was the Belarusian officials trying to deport her. The Olympic player also posted a video in which she could be seen making appeals to the International Olympic Committee to intervene and let her stay. 

"I am under pressure and they are trying to take me out of the country without my consent. I ask the International Olympic Committee to interfere,” the Belarusian sprinter could be heard saying in the footage.

Belarusian Olympic Committee falsely claimed that the player was being sent away due to a medical emergency. Although in her video clip, Timanovskaya can be heard saying that her country's committee’s claims were "not true,” adding that she wasn’t even inspected by any doctors if that would have been the case. 

In a tweet later, the IOC said, “The IOC and Tokyo 2020 have spoken to Krystsina Tsymanouskaya directly tonight. She is with the authorities at Haneda airport and is currently accompanied by a staff member of Tokyo 2020. She has told us that she feels safe.” It continued, “ The IOC and Tokyo 2020 will continue their conversations with Krystsina Tsymanouskaya and the authorities to determine the next steps in the upcoming days.”

The  IOC stated that it was seeking clarification from Belarussian officials about Tsymanouskaya's deportation. Belarusian sprinter had earlier bagged two medals, a gold in the 2019 Summer Universiade in Italy, and a silver in the 100m and 200m sprints, and has competed in a total of nine international competitions, according to the reports. She had stood second in the 100m race at the 2017 European U23 Championships organized in Poland. But after she criticized the Belarus Olympics Committee, the country's leading media channels labelled her as someone "lacking team spirit." It is being reported that she is apparently "scared" to go back home. Correspondents on the scene were speculating that the player would be seeking asylum in Europe.