Krystsina
Siarheyeuna Tsimanouskaya is a Belarusian sprinter who refused to leave Tokyo
after she was kicked out of her country’s Olympic team by team officials.

Born on 19 November
1996, she won a silver medal in the 100 meters at the 2017 European U23
Championships. She also won a gold medal in the 200 meters at the 2019 Summer
Universiade held in Naples, Italy.

Tsimanouskaya
also won the silver medal in the team event at the 2019 European Games held in
Minsk, Belarus. Tsimanouskaya qualified to participate in the Tokyo Olympics
2020 in the 100 meter and 200-meter dash events. After the Olympics started,
she alleged that she was being forced to participate in 4 × 400 m relay in
addition to planned events by the sports authorities of her country.

On Sunday, Tsimanouskaya
said that she was forcibly taken to the airport in Tokyo to be sent home after
she refused to participate in the relay event. She refused to take the flight
home and sought police protection which was granted to her.

“They
are trying to get me out of the country without my permission,” she said
in a video posted on the Telegram channel of the Belarusian Sports Solidarity
Foundation (BSSF), a group that supports athletes jailed or sidelined for their
political views, BBC reported.

The IOC in
a statement said that it was seeking clarification from Belarussian officials –
who earlier said she was taken off the team because of her “emotional and
psychological condition”.

Tsimanouskaya
is due to compete in the women’s 200m event on Monday.