- We are trying to change my athletic citizenship so that I can compete for the Polish national team, she says in an interview with the TV channel RBC.

It can take up to three years to change citizenship, but Timanovskaya hopes the process can be speeded up.

The Belarusian was taken, against her will, to the airport in Tokyo during the Olympics where she was to be sent back to her home country.

She wrote on social media that she had been "kidnapped" by her own leaders and sought protection from Japanese police at the airport.

She was then flown to Poland, where she received a humanitarian visa.

CLIP: Timanovskaya sees a future in Poland: "Life changed in one day" (12 Aug 2021)

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Kristina Timanovskaya.

Photo: Bildbyrån.