Tokyo 2020: Belarusian Olympic athlete, Tsimanouskaya, taken to the airport in Tokyo to fly home against her wishes
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Updated 01/08/2021 at 22:17 GMT
The IOC says a Belarusian Olympic athlete has confirmed she "feels safe" following an earlier report that she had been taken to the airport in Tokyo to fly home against her wishes after publicly complaining about the national team. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya posted a video where she claimed she was entered in the 4x400m relay without her permission.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya of Belarus reacts during Women's 200 m Final during day four of the 2019 Summer Universiade on July 11, 2019 in Naples, Italy
Image credit: Getty Images
The IOC says that Belarus's Krystsina Tsimanouskaya "feels safe" following earlier reports that she had been taken to the airport in Tokyo to fly home against her wishes after publicly complaining about the national team.
"The IOC and Tokyo 2020 have spoken to Krystsina Tsymanouskaya directly tonight," read the official statement. "She is with the authorities at Haneda airport and is currently accompanied by a staff member of Tokyo 2020. She has told us that she feels safe."
Tsimanouskaya was due to compete in the women’s 200m on Monday.
But following posting a video where she claimed she was entered in the 4x400m relay without her permission - after some members of the Belarus team were ruled ineligible to compete as they failed to undergo a sufficient amount of doping tests - Tsimanouskaya says she was told to pack her bags and was taken to the airport.
Tsimanouskaya told Reuters she was removed from her team because she "spoke on my Instagram about the negligence of our coaches".
The sprinter has now called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to intervene in her case.
In a video posted on the Telegram channel of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF), a group that supports athletes jailed or sidelined for their political views, she said: "I am asking the International Olympic Committee for help.
"There is pressure against me. They are trying to get me out of the country without my permission. I am asking the IOC to get involved."
The Belarus Olympic Committee has not denied Tsimanouskaya's statement, but have said she was removed from the 200m and 4x400m races due to her "emotional and psychological state".
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A statement from their Facebook page said: "According to doctors, due to the emotional and psychological state of the Belarusian athlete Christina Timanovskaya, the coaching staff of the national athletics team decided to stop the performance of the athlete at the XXXII Olympics.
"Consequently, the athlete's application for participation in qualifying races at 200m and in the 4x400m relay was recalled."
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