Belarus sprinter wants investigation into team officials

MOSCOW (AP) — Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has told the AP in a video interview that she hopes team managers responsible will be punished in some way by sports officials but doesn’t want anything done that would prevent Belarus from competing in the Olympic Games.

Tsimanouskaya, 24, criticized how officials were managing her team. She said on her Instagram account that she was put in the 4×400 relay even though she has never raced in the event, after which Belarusian sports officials announced they were withdrawing her from the 200 meters and sending her home.

The runner was then apparently hustled to the airport but refused to board the flight and asked local police for help.

In an interview with the AP, Tsimanouskaya called for an investigation and “possibly taking sanctions against the head coach who approached me and who deprived me of the right to compete in the Olympic Games, or to investigate the situation, who gave the order, who actually took the decision that I can’t compete any more.”

At the same time, she said that “the athletes aren’t guilty of anything and they should keep competing and I don’t think there should be any sanctions against the athletes.”

Poland granted Tsimanouskaya a visa Monday, and she expects to fly to Warsaw on Wednesday.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

MOSCOW (AP) — Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who plans to seek refuge in Europe after accusing team officials of trying to force her to leave the Tokyo Games early, said Tuesday that officials from her country “made it clear” she would face punishment if she returned to Belarus.

Tsimanouskaya, who had criticized the management of her team on social media, said officials hustled her to the airport and tried to put her on a plane back to Belarus, where the autocratic government has relentlessly stifled dissent and any criticism. She said she hopes to continue her career, but for now her safety remains a priority.

In the dramatic standoff, several countries offered her help, and Poland granted her a humanitarian visa Monday. She plans to fly to Warsaw later in the week.

“They made it clear that upon return home I would definitely face some form of punishment,” the 24-year-old sprinter told The Associated Press in a videocall interview. “There were also thinly disguised hints that more would await me.”

She added that she believed she would kicked off of the national team.

The standoff began after Tsimanouskaya’s criticism of how officials were managing her team set off a massive backlash in state-run media back home. The runner said on her Instagram account that she was put in the 4×400 relay even though she has never raced in the event.

Amid the drama, Tsimanouskaya waged — and lost — a legal fight to run in the 200 meters at the Olympics. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said in a statement that it denied Tsimanouskaya’s request for an interim ruling that would have allowed her to run at the Olympic Stadium on Monday. The heats were held in the morning and the semifinals were in the evening.

“For now I just want to safely arrive in Europe … meet with people who have been helping me and make a decision what to do next,” Tsimanouskaya said in the interview.

“I would very much like to continue my sporting career because I’m just 24 and I had plans for two more Olympics at least,” she said. ”(But) for now, the only thing that concerns me is my safety.”

The rapid-fire series of events brought international political intrigue to an Olympics that have been more focused on operational dramas, like maintaining safety during a pandemic and navigating widespread Japanese opposition to holding the event at all.

Belarus’ authoritarian government has relentlessly targeted anyone even mildly expressing dissent since a presidential election a year ago triggered a wave of unprecedented mass protests. And it has also gone to extremes to stop its critics, including recently diverting a plane to the capital of Minsk and arresting a dissident journalist aboard.