Short-distance track national athlete Kristina Timanuskaya
Refused boarding at Tokyo Haneda Airport on the 1st
Hopes to seek asylum in Germany and Austria
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] A Belarusian track and field athlete who attended the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics as a national representative suddenly had her participation canceled and applied for asylum in a third country. She claimed that the withdrawal from the competition was not her decision and even requested personal protection.
According to major foreign media including NHK on the 2nd, Kristina Tsimanouskaya (24), a Belarusian national sprinter, refused to board a plane at Tokyo Haneda Airport on the 1st, saying she was brought to the airport against her will, and requested police protection. It is known that she hopes to seek asylum in Germany or Austria.
In an interview with NHK, Tsimanouskaya said, "It seems that I was framed as 'criticizing the regime' for a post I wrote on social media (SNS), excluded from the team, and a forced repatriation decision was made," adding, "I am afraid to return to Belarus." She also said that her coach suddenly barged into her room and told her to pack her bags.
The issue arose after Tsimanouskaya publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the coaching staff on SNS. On Instagram on the 30th of last month, she wrote, "The coach unilaterally instructed me to participate in an event that was not scheduled without checking my condition or whether I was ready to run the 400m." Tsimanouskaya was scheduled to compete in the women's 200m on the 2nd and the 4×400m relay on the 5th.
Having had conflicts with the coaching staff, Tsimanouskaya revealed that some members of the national women's track team did not properly undergo doping tests, and that she was entered into the 4×400m relay against her will. She claimed, "The coach added me to the relay without my knowledge."
In response, Belarusian authorities countered that Tsimanouskaya was sent back home following medical advice that she was "mentally unstable." The Belarus Olympic Committee issued a statement saying, "Based on doctors' advice regarding Tsimanouskaya's emotional and psychological state, it was decided to withdraw her from the Olympics." Belarus state TV ONT also criticized her, saying she "lacks team spirit."
As the conflict between the athlete and the coach escalated politically, some have claimed it is an attempted kidnapping by the government. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a Belarusian opposition leader, criticized on Twitter, "Tsimanouskaya has the right to protection from the international community," calling it "effectively a government plan to kidnap the athlete."
Meanwhile, Belarus is one of the Eastern European countries that gained independence 30 years ago in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Currently, President Alexander Lukashenko has been in long-term power for 27 years since 1994. Known as Europe's last dictator, President Lukashenko has launched a massive crackdown on the opposition and in May of this year forcibly landed a foreign aircraft in the capital to arrest dissidents.
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