A Belarusian athlete refused to return to her home Sunday and has sought asylum in Poland, multiple sources reported.
\nKrystsina Tsimanouskaya, a 24-year-old \u2026<\/b>
\nA Belarusian athlete refused to return to her home Sunday and has sought asylum in Poland, multiple sources reported. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, a 24-year-old sprinter, refused to board her flight home and was seen entering Poland\u2019s embassy in Japan on Monday, Reuters reported. \u201cPoland is ready to help Kryscina Tsimanouskaya, a Belarusian athlete ordered by the Lukashenka regime to return from Olympic Games to Minsk.\u201d Polish foreign ministry official Marcin Przydacz said in a tweet. \u201cShe was offered a humanitarian visa and is free to pursue her sporting career in Poland if she chooses,\u201d Przydacz said. Tsimanouskaya arrived at the embassy at 5 p.m. local time with her luggage and was met by two women carrying a flag that\u2019s recognized as a symbol of opposition in Belarus, Reuters reported. Her husband, Arseni Zhdanevich, has reportedly arrived in Ukraine, a Ukrainian interior ministry member told Reuters. It is unclear if he is traveling to see his wife in Poland. Tsimanouskaya was slated to compete in the women\u2019s 200 meter race on Monday before she was told to board a flight home, Reuters reported. The Belarusian head coach arrived at her room at the Olympic Village on Sunday and told her she needed to travel home. \u201cThe head coach came over to me and said there had been an order from above to remove me,\u201d she told Reuters via telegram. \u201cAt 5 (pm) they came my room and told me to pack and they took me to the airport,\u201d she said. Tsimanouskaya refused to board the plane and told Reuters, \u201cI will not return to Belarus.\u201d She was pulled from the Games after doctors advised her coaches about the athlete\u2019s \u201cemotional, psychological state,\u201d the Belarusian Olympic Committee said according to Reuters. Yuri Miosevich, Belarus Athletics\u2019 head coach, told Belarusian state TV that he \u201ccould see there was something wrong with her\u2026 She either secluded herself or didn\u2019t want to talk.\u201d Japanese officials assured that Tsimanouskaya remained safe while in Tokyo, according to Reuters. \u201cJapan is coordinating with relevant parties and continue to take appropriate action, \u201d Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said in a statement. Olympic officials will continue to talk with Tsimanouskaya and have asked for a full report from the Belarus Olympic Committee, International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams said, reported by Reuters. The IOC refused to recognize Belarus\u2019s President Alexander Lukashenko \u2019s son Viktor when he was elected to run the country\u2019s Olympic Committee Marck, and both were banned from attending the Games, according to Reuters. SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!<\/p>\n