Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya fled the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in dramatic fashion after threats from her country’s authorities. Now a Polish citizen, she is finally fulfilling her dream of taking part in the Paris Olympics.
A photo of Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya surrounded by police at Tokyo airport during the previous Olympic Games went viral.
On the eve of the 200m heats on August 1, 2021, Belarusian officials tried to forcibly repatriate her after she criticised some of her delegation’s coaches on social media.
Three years later, Tsimanouskaya is finally able to compete in the Paris Olympics. The sprinter took part in the 200m heats on August 4 at the Stade de France wearing the colours of Poland.
"Paris was my goal," she told AFP during an interview in the Olympic village a few days before she entered the competition. "Dreams come true," added the sprinter, sporting a red T-shirt with "Polska" emblazoned across her chest. A tattoo on her left forearm says in Russian, her native language: "Too strong to give up".
Standing up to her country
The 100m and 200m specialist found herself at the centre of an international scandal in Japan – which she fled with the help of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – fearing forcible repatriation and imprisonment in Belarus after criticising her federation.
At the Tokyo Olympics, she wrote negative comments about her national team coaches on Instagram – criticising the fact that she was taking part in the 4x400m relay, which is not her speciality, because some members of the team had not carried out sufficient anti-doping tests.
Belarusian officials swiftly ordered her to pack her bags and fly home to Minsk – where she feared for her safety on her return to Alexander Lukashenko’s repressive regime.
First she took refuge in the Polish embassy and then she flew to Poland.
The diplomatic incident came amid a brutal crackdown on dissent after disputed elections that returned strongman Lukashenko to power in 2020. Tsimanouskaya was one of more than 2,000 Belarusian sports figures who signed an open letter calling for new elections.
A new nationality
Three years on, the athlete appears relaxed and with a ready smile, saying she is happy to feel the Olympic spirit, albeit without the drama surrounding her defection. "I have a feeling that I am back in Tokyo," she said with a smile. "In a positive sense." But she nonetheless had to fight hard to get to Paris.
Although she received Polish citizenship nine months after defecting, Tsimanouskaya was not guaranteed the right to compete for Poland in international events. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 complicated her bid to change her sport nationality.
World Athletics, track and field’s governing body, cleared her in August 2023 to compete wearing the colours of her host country, just ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Even though Tsimanouskaya’s peers and coaches have treated her well, she has had to work hard to integrate.
The sprinter, who has learnt Polish, needed a bodyguard for months during her first year in Poland as she was receiving online threats from Belarus. Even now, her safety remains a constant concern.
Tsimanouskaya prefers to stay within the confines of the Olympic Village, and hopes to avoid the officials and athletes from her home country who are competing in Paris under a neutral status because of their country's support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. "KGB officers accompanied the Belarusian national team in Tokyo," she said, adding: "I was warned not to go anywhere alone" during the Paris Olympics.
She is also paying the price for the constant stress of recent years. "I get sick every two months," said Tsimanouskaya. After the Paris Olympics, she hopes to focus on her health and prepare for the World Championships in Tokyo next year.
However, her health problems could force her to retire prematurely. She doesn’t know yet whether she will be able to take part in the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
Ever present threats
The campaign of online harassment has subsided but the Lukashenko regime still has Tsimanouskaya in its sights. In May, the Belarusian authorities opened criminal proceedings against her and more than 250 opposition figures, accusing them of "forming an extremist group" and "conspiracy to overthrow the government".
The Belarusian authorities also searched her parents' home in the small town of Klimavitchy, where they still live. "This is absurd," she said. "For the past three years I’ve been practising sport and preparing for the Olympics."
Even though she is sometimes nostalgic for Belarus, Tsimanouskaya has learnt to accept "things as they are".
"If you just sit there and cry for what you’ve lost you don’t move forward."
Although she failed to qualify directly for the 200m semi-finals on Sunday, she came in second place in the repechage on Monday afternoon. "My second start at the Olympic Games and here’s the result. Confidence is back," wrote Tsimanouskaya in a post on her Instagram account after Monday’s race. She will also be competing on Thursday with the Polish 4x100m relay team.
with AFP
This article has been translated from the original in French.
