Belarus runner alleges Olympic team tried to send her home

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TOKYO – Japan's authorities said a Belarus way sprinter was harmless Monday aft she alleged her Olympic squad tried to region her from Japan successful a quality that led to a standoff astatine Tokyo’s main airport.

An activistic radical supporting Krystsina Tsimanouskaya said she believed her beingness was successful information successful Belarus and she would question asylum with the Austrian Embassy successful Tokyo.

Japanese authorities spokesperson Katsunobu Kato told reporters that Japan was cooperating with different organizations “to instrumentality due measures,” and confirmed that Tsimanouskaya was safe. The Foreign Ministry said Japan was moving with the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympics organizers.

Tsimanouskaya said successful a filmed connection distributed connected societal media that she was pressured by Belarus squad officials and asked the IOC for help.

“I was enactment nether unit and they are trying to forcibly instrumentality maine retired of the state without my consent,” the 24-year-old runner said.

Tsimanouskaya, who is owed to tally successful the Olympic 200-meter heats Monday, criticized Belarus squad officials connected her Instagram account. She said she’d been enactment successful the 4x400 relay contempt ne'er racing the event.

The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation said authorities supporters targeted the athlete, and Tsimanouskaya contacted the radical for assistance to debar what she feared was a forced deportation to Minsk.

“The run was rather superior and that was a wide awesome that her beingness would beryllium successful information successful Belarus,” Alexander Opeikin, a spokesperson for the BSSF, told The Associated Press successful an interview.

Tsimanouskaya summoned Japanese constabulary astatine Haneda Airport and did not committee a formation departing for Istanbul. Foreign ministry officials arrived aboriginal astatine the airport, Opeikin said.

In a connection released by the BSSF, Tsimanouskaya said she was successful a constabulary presumption aboriginal Monday morning.

"I explained the concern to a constabulary serviceman of however I was taken from the Olympic Village," she said. “Now I americium successful a unafraid concern and americium figuring retired the question of wherever I volition walk the night.”

The IOC, which has been successful quality with the Belarus National Olympic Committee up of the Tokyo Games, said it had intervened.

“The IOC … is looking into the concern and has asked the NOC for clarification,” it said successful a statement.

Belarus' neighbor, Poland, wherever galore critics of the Minsk authorities person travel to live, offered assistance to Tsimanouskaya. Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said connected Twitter that Tsimanouskaya has been offered a “humanitarian visa and is escaped to prosecute her sporting vocation successful Poland if she truthful chooses.”

The Belarus National Olympic Committee has been led for much than 25 years by authoritarian authorities president Alexander Lukashenko and his son, Viktor.

Both Lukashenkos are banned from the Tokyo Olympics by the IOC, which investigated complaints from athletes that they faced reprisals and intimidation successful fallout from protests since past August aft the country's disputed statesmanlike election.

A spokeswoman for the Belarus Olympic squad did not respond to a petition for comment.

Tsimanouskaya was taken to a harmless spot and would inquire for asylum from the Austrian embassy, Opeikin said.

Tsimanouskaya already competed for Belarus connected the archetypal time of way events Friday astatine the National Stadium successful Tokyo. She placed 4th successful her first-round vigor successful the 100 meters, timing 11.47 seconds, and did not advance.

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Kozin reported from Moscow.

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