Belarusian sprinter says she would be punished upon return to 'home'

Speaking to international media, the 24-year-old Olympian said officials “made it clear that, upon return home, I would definitely face some form of punishment.”

“There were also thinly disguised hints that more would await me,” she said.

After she had a public feud with officials from her team at the Tokyo Games, Tsimanouskaya was granted asylum in Poland after expressing fears for her safety if she returned home.

A video circulating on social media showed the sprinter stating that Belarus was forcibly trying to make her return to the country after officials criticized her team for placing her in the 4x400-meter relay, which she had never competed in before. 

She says officials attempted to force her on a plane back to Belarus.

Tsimanouskaya told that her husband fled to Ukraine, and they plan to meet in Poland.

She plans to fly to Warsaw on Wednesday.

Tsimanouskaya voiced that she doesn’t think she could return to Belarus.

“I was just afraid for my life, afraid to go to jail,” she said. “I don’t think I can ever go back to Belarus.”

The International Olympic Committee said Monday that it has launched a “formal investigation” into the situation, saying "we need to establish the full facts, we need to hear everyone involved.”

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken blasted Belarus for trying to force Tsimanouskaya to leave Tokyo for “exercising free speech.”

The Lukashenka regime sought to commit another act of transnational repression: attempting to force Olympian Krystsyna Tsimanouskaya to leave simply for exercising free speech. Such actions violate the Olympic spirit, are an affront to basic rights, and cannot be tolerated.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 3, 2021

“The Lukashenka regime sought to commit another act of transnational repression: attempting to force Olympian Krystsyna Tsimanouskaya to leave simply for exercising free speech. Such actions violate the Olympic spirit, are an affront to basic rights, and cannot be tolerated,” Blinken said on Twitter.