Warsaw (AFP)
Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who refused to return to her country for fear of her future, said Thursday she was "happy to be safe" in Poland to the press in Warsaw.
Threatened with being forcibly repatriated to Belarus after criticizing her country's sporting bodies following a dispute at the Tokyo Olympics, the 24-year-old woman arrived on Wednesday, via Vienna, in Poland, a country where she granted a humanitarian visa.
The sprinter said she was "surprised that the situation has become such a political scandal" given the fact that it was initially a sporting issue.
"I am not thinking of political asylum," she assured.
"I will do everything to get back in shape and continue my career", underlined the sprinter, wearing a T-shirt bearing an inscription in English "I just want to run", which can be translated as "I want to just run ", but also" I just want to run ".
The sprinter had claimed on Sunday to have escaped forced repatriation to Belarus, a few days after having openly criticized the athletics federation of her country.
Fearing that she would end up in prison if she returned to Belarus, Krystsina Tsimanouskaya had obtained help from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and police protection while at Tokyo-Haneda airport.
She then took refuge for two nights at the Polish Embassy in the Japanese capital.
Belarus has been rocked by political upheaval and a crackdown on the opposition after a contested presidential election.
Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya at a press conference one day after arriving in Poland, August 5, 2021 in Warsaw Wojtek Radwanski AFP
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was among more than 2,000 Belarusian sports figures who signed an open letter calling for new elections and the release of political prisoners.
But her problems in Tokyo came after a message posted on her Instagram account criticizing her coaches for entering her in a race without notifying her first.
"My parents told me that they spoke badly of me on television (Belarusian, editor's note). I received a lot of negative messages, but I received even more messages of support," said himself. she rejoices.
"I am very worried for my parents, especially since my father has a heart problem and it has worsened in recent days," she said.
- "Stop being afraid" -
The International Olympic Committee has indicated that it will investigate the Belarusian Olympic team.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and his son Viktor, president of the Belarusian Olympic Committee have been banned from attending the Olympics for targeting athletes because of their political views.
Shortly before the Tokyo Games, Aleksandr Lukashenko called on sports officials and athletes to achieve results in Japan.
"Think about it before you go," he warned.
"If you come back with nothing, you better not come back at all."
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya during the 100m series at the Tokyo Olympics, August 2, 2021 Giuseppe CACACE AFP / Archives
The alleged attempt to return Tsimanouskaya to Belarus has drawn international condemnation, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing Minsk of "another act of transnational repression".
In power since 1994, Lukashenko sparked international outrage in May by sending a fighter jet to intercept a Ryanair Athens-Vilnius plane to arrest a dissident on board.
On Tuesday, the director and co-founder of an NGO helping opponents of the Belarusian regime who fled to Ukraine, Vitali Chychov, 25, was found hanged in a park in Kiev on Tuesday.
His organization, called "Belarusian House in Ukraine" (BUD) denounced an assassination orchestrated by Minsk.
Ukrainian police have opened an investigation into premeditated murder and said they would pursue all leads, including "murder disguised as suicide"
Speaking to the press for the first time since arriving in Warsaw, the sportswoman urged her "Belarusian compatriots to stop being afraid and to speak out if they are under pressure".
© 2021 AFP