Belarusian athlete Tsimanouskaya auctioned off one of his medals to help other dissidents

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who left the Tokyo Olympics to stand up to his government, A sports medal is auctioned on Monday to raise funds and support athletes from their country under similar conditions.

Tsimanouskaya He offered on the eBay auction portal the silver medal he won in the 100-meter sprint at the 2019 European Games. At 12:00 GMT, the auction had raised the price of sports recognition above 17,000 euros (nearly 20,000 dollars). The auction of the medals will end in nine days.

Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation (FSDB), who supported the 24-year-old in his decision to leave his country’s national team and travel to Poland, He said in a statement that the prize was being auctioned “at the request of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya and in support of the athletes who suffered from the actions of the (Alexander) Lukashenko regime”.

The FSDB stressed, citing the young Belarusian athlete, that the competition in which she won the medal “It was extremely important” for her, because it took place in Belarus, and “Many people,” including members of his family, went to congratulate him personally.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday withdrew the accreditation of two Belarusian officers, the coach of the athletics team Yuri Moisevich and the team official Artur Choumak, for the coercion they exerted against Tsimanouskaya.

The athlete declares that He was ordered to return to his country on August 1 after complaining in public about the sports management of his superiors, which forced him to change his participation in a test.

The sprinter, What expressed fear of reprisals from the Lukashenko regime, refused to fly to Misnk and instead went to Warsaw, after obtaining a humanitarian visa from the Polish authorities.

Tsimanouskaya, who by his action has become a symbol of the democratic opposition fighting the Minsk authorities abroad, told a press conference in Warsaw that, After fighting for many years for the dream of pursuing a sports career, her only wish, outside of politics, is to be able to continue competing and to be reunited with her husband and coach, Arseni Zdanevich.

Belarusian Olympic Committee says coaches removed Tsimanouskaya from Tokyo Olympics on the opinion of doctors about his emotional and psychological state.

The IOC’s response

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken note of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya’s statements and announced that it has opened a formal investigation. The athlete denounced that the authorities in her country were trying to force her to leave Japan against her will.

“Our responsibility is above all the safety of the athlete”, expressed at a press conference, in statements collected by the Japanese agency Kiodo, IOC spokesman Mark Adams, who said he must listen to the parties concerned before taking further action. They also contacted the Polish Olympic Committee, as their embassy in Tokyo offered the young athlete a humanitarian visa.

The IOC spokesperson stressed that the safety of athletes is the “maximum“Priority of the body and transferred that the approach taken by the committee in this case should be a message to all athletes that their concerns are heard by the governing body of the Olympic Games.

(With information from EFE)

Read on: