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Who is Krystsina Tsimanouskaya And What’s Happening With Her?

Who is Krystsina Tsimanouskaya And What’s Happening With Her?

The young athlete has been offered asylum by Poland and the Czech Republic after fearing for her safety in her home country.

Laura Sanders

Laura Sanders

Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has been placed under police protection in Tokyo after she refused to be put on a flight home, fearing for her safety. The UN is now involved and several countries have offered her asylum. So who is Krystsina Tsimanouskaya? Where is she from? And what exactly is going on?

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is a sprinter from Belarus, a former Soviet state which is being kept under tight control by authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko and his son, Viktor.

Born on 19th November 1996, Tsimanouskaya is a silver and gold medalist. She won a silver medal at the 2017 European U23 Championships and a gold medal in the 200m at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya in Naples in 2019. (
PA)

Tsimanouskaya was due to compete in the women's 100m and 200m and the 4 x 400m relay in Tokyo 2020.

She ran in the women's 100m preliminary heats on Friday 30th July and was due to compete in the women's 200m on Monday 2nd August, but she's now under police protection in Tokyo after making allegations towards the national sports committee.

Why was Krystsina Tsimanouskaya sent home?

The 24-year-old said that the national sports authorities in her home country entered her in the 4 x 400m relay without her knowledge or permission and were forcing her to compete in an event she had never competed in before. It's after some of her teammates who were due to compete in that event didn't qualify because they hadn't taken enough doping tests.

After Tsimanouskaya spoke out about this on Instagram, she claims to have been marched to the airport by the Belarusian Olympic Committee (BOC) on Sunday 1st August and forced to board a flight home.

"The head coach came over to me and said there had been an order from above to remove me," she wrote in a telegram message to Reuters. "At 5 (pm) they came to my room and told me to pack and they took me to the airport."

"I will not return to Belarus," she added.

Tsimanouskaya is now under the protection of Japanese police and the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) is now also involved, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed (via The Guardian).

In a statement on Twitter on 1st August, the IOC said:

"The IOC has seen the reports in the media about the Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsymanouskaya. We are looking into the situation and have asked the NOC for clarification."

Later that day, they wrote:

"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."

Tsimanouskaya spent the night at an airport hotel.

"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 has added.

What will happen to Krystsina Tsimanouskaya now?

According to Reuters, the young athlete has been withdrawn from the rest of the Olympic events by the BOC following doctors' advice about her "emotional, psychological state."

The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, which protects athletes who are jailed or sidelined for their political views, said Tsimanouskaya has been offered asylum in Poland and the Czech Republic and that Tsimanouskaya planned on seeking protection in either Germany or Austria.

The IOC is continuing to investigate and has asked for a full report from the BOC. For now, Tsimanouskaya remains under the protection of Japanese authorities and the IOC.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Tokyo OIympics, Athletics