Belarusian sprinter refuses to be taken home by force after criticizing leadership (updated)
Yesterday, representatives of the Belarusian team at the Olympic Games in Tokyo wanted to deport the track and field athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, the Belarusian Foundation for Sporting Solidarity reports.
According to the Foundation, the athlete was urgently taken with her belongings to the airport. Today, she was to run a distance of 200 meters, but the representatives of the national team did not let her do it in and wanted to send her back to Minsk.
According to Tsimanouskaya, representatives of the Belarusian delegation hadn’t filed any claims against her for criticizing the officials. She was simply ordered to pack her things.
The Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation asked the diaspora to help the athlete.
Lukashenka’s personal order?
Pavel Latushka, head of the People’s Anti-Crisis Administration, also addressed the Belarusian diaspora in Japan and all the world’s media covering the Tokyo Olympics.
“By Lukashenka’s personal order, the decision was made to evacuate her, take her outside Tokyo and bring her back to Belarus. She will be accompanied by three men of athletic build. It is very important to help our Belarusian woman, who has just voiced her position and her opinion,” he said.
At 14:06 Belarusian time, on Sunday, the Foundation informed that the police and volunteers were working with Krystsina at the airport. In a conversation with “Euroradio,” she said she was afraid to fly to Belarus. According to Tsimanouskaya, she was accompanied at the airport by “a psychologist and someone from the NOC”.
At 15:20, the TASS news agency reported that the administration of Tokyo International Airport Haneda had no information about the whereabouts of Tsimanouskaya.
The NAM engaged the diplomatic services of several EU countries to provide international protection for Krystsina. In particular, the NAM team was in contact with the Polish Foreign Ministry and contacted the Austrian Foreign Ministry to assist Krystsina in obtaining international protection.
An hour later, Tsimanouskaya was in Japanese police custody. Representatives of the NOC of Belarus were at the airport trying to bring the runner back to the Olympic village.
TASS news agency reported at 16:01 p.m. citing Turkish Airlines, that Tsimanouskaya did not check in for the Tokyo-Istanbul flight at Haneda Airport.
Later that evening, TASS reported that Tsimanouskaya was being transported to a safe house and would apply for asylum.
Applying for asylum
Belarusian Foundation for Sports Solidarity has already applied to the International Olympic Committee with regard to the situation currently developing around Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, Euroradio has learned from the executive director of BSSF, Alyaksandr Apeykin.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya stated that she planned to seek asylum in Europe.
She appealed to the International Olympic Committee.
Kristina Timanovskaya has appealed to the International Olympic Committee to intervene in the situation. The athlete confirmed that they tried to remove her from Japan without her consent.
The official version
The NOC of Belarus published an official statement about the termination of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya’s participation in the Tokyo Games.
“According to the conclusion of the doctors, due to the emotional and psychological state of the Belarusian track and field athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, the coaching staff of the national athletics team decided to terminate the performance of the athlete at the XXXII Olympic Games. Therefore, the application of the athlete for the qualifying heats of 200 meters and 4×400 meters relay has been revoked,” reads the statement.
Tsimanouskaya claimed that this was a lie, as she had not been examined by doctors at all, reports Euroradio.
The International Olympic Committee is now examining the situation with Krystsina Tsimanouskaya.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was later visited by representatives of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, reported the Sports Solidarity Foundation.
The Polish Embassy in Tokyo was ready to provide legal and consular assistance to Tsimanouskaya. Polish Foreign Ministry has instructed the Consul of Poland in Tokyo, which has already been contacted by the Belarusian diaspora in Japan. The Czech and Slovenian diplomats also offered help and protection to Krystsina.
What Krystsina was saying
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya said in her Instagram (now deleted) that she was required to run in the 4×400 relay. She was outraged because she was originally only supposed to compete in the 100 and 200 meters competition.
“I have just found out the news that I will be running at the third event at these Olympics as well – the 4×400 meter relay. It turns out that our ‘very cool bosses’ decided everything, as usual, for us,” she said. “They messed up with the girls, who didn’t have enough tests to make it to their first Olympics in life – so they decided to make a horse move and put me in the relay. Awesome, guys! Well done!”
She meant Belarusian runners Maryia Zhodzik, Hanna Mikhailava, and Krystsina Mulyarchyk, who were banned from competing at the Games because they didn’t have enough doping samples. Krystsina and Hanna are sprinters who were members of the relay team.
“If you messed up with the girls, with their doping tests, with their samples – I don’t care, whatever – why should I cover up these problems? […] This is the Olympics, it’s not a joke,” Tsimanouskaya said indignantly. […] You took the dream away from the girls who were preparing for it. Who will be punished? It’s lawlessness.”
After deleting the original post, Tsimanouskaya explained her reaction.
“I would never have reacted so harshly in my life if they had approached me beforehand, explained the whole situation, and asked if I could run 400 meters and if I was ready? But they decided to do everything behind my back, even though I tried to find out this information, but all I got was them ignoring me,” the athlete said on Instagram.
According to the head of the Belarusian Foundation for Sports Solidarity Alyaksandr Apeykin, Belarusian track and field athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has applied for political asylum in Poland, “Present Time” reports.
Belarusian track-and-field athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who managed to avoid compulsory deportation to her home country, got a Polish visa. This was announced by Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Marcin Przydacz on Twitter.
According to him, Poland will do everything possible to help Tsimanouskaya to continue her sporting career.
The athlete’s husband Arseniy Zdanevich, who urgently left Belarus for Ukraine, said in comments to Euroradio that “the whole problem is that our leaders don’t act correctly, they don’t even study the athletes, what kinds they will do, it’s all known at the last moment.”
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