WARSAW, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya decided to defect as she was being driven to a Tokyo airport because her grandmother told her that it was not safe to return home to Belarus.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters in Warsaw on Thursday, she said her family feared she would be sent to a psychiatric ward if she went back to Belarus, and that her grandmother had called her to tell her not to return.
“I have always been far from politics, I didn’t sign any letters or go to any protests, I didn’t say anything against the Belarusian government,” she said.
“I’m a sportsperson and I didn’t understand anything in political life. I try not to do anything other than a sport in my life and I try my best to not be distracted by politics.”
“It may sound cruel because of all the terrible things that happened in Belarus last summer but I was trying to keep away from it, but all I have wanted is to go to the Olympics and do my best,” she said, referring to protests last year against President Alexander Lukashenko that led to a police crackdown.
“I wanted to be in the final and compete for medals.”
Lukashenko’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Tsimanouskaya’s interview.
The 24-year-old athlete caused a furore on Sunday when she said coaches angry at her criticism had ordered her to fly home from Tokyo. After seeking protection from Japanese police, she flew on Wednesday to Poland instead of Belarus.
Poland, which has long been critical of Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule and harboured many activists from Belarus, has granted Tsimanouskaya and her husband humanitarian visas. Her grandmother remains back home.
“Grandmother called me when they were already driving me to the airport,” the athlete said. “Literally, I had some 10 seconds. She called me, all that she told me was: ‘Please do not come back to Belarus, it’s not safe’.”
“That’s it, she hung up,” she said. “I would want to return to Belarus. I love my country. I did not betray it and I hope I will be able to return.”
‘I AM NOT AFRAID’
Tsimanouskaya’s saga, reminiscent of Cold War sporting defections, threatens to further isolate Lukashenko, who is under Western sanctions after a crackdown on opponents since last year.
The sprinter, who had criticised negligence by her team coaches, spent two nights in Poland’s embassy in Japan before flying to Vienna and then Warsaw on Wednesday. She also held a news conference in the Polish capital on Thursday.
The Belarus National Olympic Committee had said coaches withdrew Tsimanouskaya from the Games on doctors’ advice about her emotional and psychological state. It did not immediately respond to requests for…
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