IOC, Tokyo 2020 meeting with Belarusian athlete who sought police protection at Haneda airport

The IOC and Tokyo 2020 are speaking with Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya and Japanese authorities in an effort to determine what comes next after she sought police protection at Tokyo’s Haneda airport rather than boarding a flight home against her will.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams updated reporters at Monday’s daily press conference in Tokyo, just hours after reports that Tsimanouskaya said she had been taken to the airport against her wishes after complaining about national coaches at the Olympic Games.

Adams said she had spent the night at an airport hotel and “she has assured us that she feels safe and secure”.

He added “We are talking again with her this morning to understand what those next steps could be, what she wants to pursue and we will give her support in that decision”.

“She is in the hands of the authorities at the moment. We have also asked the Belarus NOC for a full written report.”

Adams says that James Macleod, the IOC Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations, is the person speaking directly with Tsimanouskaya.

The IOC spokesperson declined numerous requests for further details on the case, saying “let’s actually find out what went on” while noting the event was only hours old and the IOC has not heard from the Belarus NOC as of yet.

Tsimanouskaya, 24, was scheduled to compete in the women’s 200m event on Monday and complained on social media about being entered into an additional race on short notice.

The Belarus NOC had said in an earlier statement that Tsimanouskaya was being withdrawn from the Games on doctors’ advice due to her “emotional, psychological state”.

Tsimanouskaya had asked for the IOC to intervene in a video posted on the Telegram channel of the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation. The BSSF is a group founded to support athletes jailed or penalized with a loss of government funding for their political views.

Many athletes have spoken out against the authoritarian regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Mass street protests began last year shortly after Lukashenko was re-elected in what is widely accepted as a rigged election.

The IOC in December suspended Lukashenko, who was then the Belarus NOC president, and his son Viktor, the first vice-president. IOC President Thomas Bach said the Belarus NOC had not “appropriately protected Belarus athletes from political discrimination” within sports organizations in the country.

Victor Lukashenko was elected as president of the NOC in February, an election that was not recognized by the IOC.