A Belarusian Olympic sprinter plans to seek asylum in Poland, an activist group said yesterday, after the athlete said that her team’s officials tried to force her to fly home, where she feared she would not be safe from her government.
Runner Krystsina Tsimanouskaya received a humanitarian visa from the Polish embassy in Tokyo, a Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said.
The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) said that the group has bought her a plane ticket to Warsaw for Wednesday.
Photo: Reuters
The standoff apparently began after Tsimanouskaya criticized how officials were managing her team — setting off a massive backlash in Belarusian state-run media, where authorities relentlessly crack down on government critics.
Tsimanouskaya had said that her team was attempting to send her home after she criticized the Belarusian athletics federation for entering her into a relay race in Tokyo without giving her notice.
“It turns out our great bosses as always decided everything for us,” she said in an Instagram story video that is no longer available.
Tsimanouskaya was then apparently hustled to the airport, but refused to board a flight to Istanbul and instead approached police for help.
In a filmed message distributed on social media, she also asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for assistance.
“I was put under pressure, and they are trying to forcibly take me out of the country without my consent,” the 24-year-old runner said in the message.
The rapid-fire series of events brought international political intrigue to the Olympic Games that have been more focused on operational dramas, such as maintaining safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic and navigating widespread Japanese opposition to holding the event.
The Belarusian government has targeted anyone even mildly expressing dissent since a presidential election last year triggered a wave of unprecedented mass protests.
It has also gone to extremes to stop its critics, including in diverting a plane, which European officials called an act of air piracy.
It was in this context that Tsimanouskaya feared for her safety once she saw the campaign against her in state media, according to the sports foundation, which she also contacted for help.
“The campaign was quite serious and that was a clear signal that her life would be in danger in Belarus,” said Alexander Opeikin, a spokesman for the BSSF.
“She’s OK, she’s holding up well. It’s clearly a stressful situation not only for athletes, but for any person coming under such pressure,” he added.
Athletes seeking asylum at global sporting events is nothing new. It was especially frequent during the Cold War but has also happened occasionally in the decades since.
Underscoring the seriousness of the allegations, several groups and countries said they are helping the runner.
Poland and the Czech Republic offered assistance, while Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was working with the IOC and the Tokyo Olympics organizers to help.
The IOC, which has been in dispute with the Belarus National Olympic Committee (NOC) ahead of the Games, said it had intervened.
“The IOC is looking into the situation and has asked the NOC for clarification,” it said in a statement.
Separately, a Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior source said that Tsimanouskaya’s husband, Arseni Zhdanevich, had entered Ukraine.
Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS