[ad_1]
Belarusian runner Kristina Timanovskaya arrived in Poland on Wednesday to seek asylum after refusing to comply with orders to return to her country and not complete her participation in the Tokyo Olympics.
And long-distance runner Kristina Timanovskaya claimed her Olympic team tried to expel her from Japan, following a dispute that led to a showdown on Sunday night, and transferred her to Haneda Airport for deportation, but the runner called the Japanese police at the airport, and she did not fly to Istanbul.
Tsimanoskaya, 24, was supposed to compete in the 200m events last Monday, but said she was taken to the airport to board a Turkish Airlines plane.
Read more
“I will not be returning to Belarus,” Tsimanovskaya told the plane, told Reuters.
Tsimanovskaya told a “Reuters” reporter via “Telegram” that Belarus’s head coach entered her room last Sunday in the players’ village and told her she had to leave.
“The head coach came to me and told me there were higher orders to kick me out,” she added in the letter.
And she continued, “At five in the afternoon, they came to my room and told me to pack my bags and take me to the airport.”
But she refused to board the plane and sought protection from the Japanese police at the airport.
The Polish government granted the runner a humanitarian visa a day after she refused to return to her country, and her husband was granted another visa to join her.
“Poland continues to show solidarity and support,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydać said on Twitter, confirming his arrival in Warsaw and thanking diplomats who facilitated his trip.
At Warsaw airport, a few Belarusians were waiting to receive the runner, carrying flowers and a red and white flag, in reference to the Belarusian opposition.
Belarus’ National Olympic Committee did not respond to a request for comment today and previously said coaches decided to withdraw Tsimanovskaya’s candidacy from the Olympics on the advice of doctors about his psychological condition.
The International Olympic Committee has opened an investigation into the Tsimanskaya case.
A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee said the committee has taken several actions against the Olympic Committee in Belarus in the run-up to the Olympics, following massive protests across the country.
Source: Reuters
[ad_2]
Source link
