Olympics: Belarusian sprinter refuses flight back home

Krystsina Tsymanouskaya, a Belarusian sprinter competing in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, refused an early flight back home after she was taken to the airport against her will for criticizing her coaching staff.

Krystsina, 24, said the coaching staff came to her on Sunday and told her to pack up as she was to be carried to the Haneda Airport by the Belarusian team representatives.

She immediately reached the Japanese police for help after arriving at the airport and refused to board the plane. Later on, She was seen standing with the officers proclaiming, “I think I am safe. I am with the police.”

The athlete claimed that she was forced, put “under pressure” by the Belarusian team officials to fly home prior to her upcoming race and urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to help her out.

The sprinter had criticized the coaching staff earlier for scheduling another event for her to participate in at short notice.

Krystsina said she had been removed from the Olympics team due “to the fact that I spoke on my Instagram about the negligence of our coaches.”

The Belarusian Officials had claimed to have taken her out of the team because of her “emotional and psychological condition.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had spoken ‘directly’ to Krystsina and she is alongside the authorities and a Tokyo 2020 staff member. ‘She has told us that she feels safe,’ the IOC told on Twitter, ‘The IOC and Tokyo 2020 will continue their conversations with Krystsina Tsymanouskaya and the authorities to determine the next steps in the upcoming days,’ they later added.

The sprinter is currently considering seeking asylum in Europe and has already been offered protection from several countries including the Czech Republic and Poland. Her main concern right now is the well-being of her family back in Belarus.