Write For Us

Belarusian sprinter explains why she chose to defect, says family feared for her safety

Sponsored Post Vitamin D2 Canada Persia
110 Views

  • Thanks! Share it with your friends!

    You disliked this video. Thanks for the feedback!

ava
Published
Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya decided to defect as she was being driven to a Tokyo airport because her grandmother told her that it wasn't safe to return to her home nation of Belarus.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters in Warsaw, she said her family feared she would be sent to a psychiatric ward if she went back to Belarus, and that her grandmother had called her to tell her not to return.

The 24-year-old athlete caused a furor on Sunday when she said coaches angry at her criticism had ordered her to fly home from Tokyo. After seeking protection from Japanese police, she flew on Wednesday to Poland instead of Belarus.

Poland, which has long been critical of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and harbored many activists from Belarus, has granted Tsimanouskaya and her husband humanitarian visas but her grandmother remains there.

The sprinter, who had criticized negligence by her team coaches, spent two nights in Poland's embassy in Japan before flying out to Vienna and then Warsaw on Wednesday.

The Belarus National Olympic Committee (NOC) had said coaches withdrew Tsimanouskaya from the Games on doctors' advice about her emotional and psychological state. It did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment on Thursday.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca

Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc
Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ
Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt
Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB
#GlobalNews #BelarusSprinter #SprinterAsylum
Category
U.S. & Canada
Tags
global news, Tokyo Japan, Warsaw Poland
Sign in or sign up to post comments.
Be the first to comment