English Section

Belarusian Olympic athlete sheltered by Poland to fly to Warsaw on Wednesday

03.08.2021 06:30
Belarusian Olympic athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who has taken refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo, will fly to Warsaw on Wednesday, the head of the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation has said.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya (left) competes in the womens 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya (left) competes in the women's 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo: EPA/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

"She will fly from Tokyo, a direct flight to Warsaw on August 4," Aleksandr Opeykin said, as quoted by the Reuters news agency on Monday.

"She has accepted the offer issued by the Polish Foreign Ministry to request international help, she has done that and she has received a Polish visa," he added.

"We, at the Foundation, helped her to get the ticket to Warsaw," Opeykin also said, as quoted by Reuters.

The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation was set up in August last year to provide support to athletes who face repression at the hands of the authorities in Minsk.

Tsimanouskaya was issued a humanitarian visa after she took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday, according to officials.

A day earlier she refused her team's orders to board a flight home from the Olympic Games.

"Poland will do whatever is necessary to help her to continue her sporting career," Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said in a tweet on Monday.

(gs)

Source: PAP, IAR, Reuters