#everyone Belarus Olympic sprinter who was in an airport standoff in Tokyo finds a new life running for Poland…..see more details

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THURSDAY 05 AUGUST 2021 2:52 PM | Updated: THURSDAY 05 AUGUST 2021 3:58 PM
Belarusian Olympic sprinter defects to Poland after warning from Grandmother

By:Millie Turner

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Belarus athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya arrives at the boarding gate for Austrian Airlines 0S52 at Narita international airport on August 04, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)
Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who decided to defect to Poland instead of returning to her home country, did so because her grandmother warned her not to go home.

Tsimanouskaya, 24, has said her family were worried she would be sent to a psychiatric hospital upon her arrival in Belarus.

“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 told Reuters.

“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.”

Last year, mass protests erupted across Belarus in response to a disputed election which saw current leader Alexander Lukashenko keep a tight grip on his 25-year reign.

The protests lead to a police crackdown on opposition voices, eventually leading to the arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich on a Ryanair flight in May.

Belarusian officials ordered Tsimanouskaya to go back to the country at the beginning of the month after she criticised the team’s management.

The athlete alleged she was kidnapped by officials from her own team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.