Belarus athlete refuses to fly home and seeks asylum

Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, has reportedly sought asylum in Poland after she was threatened with being bundled back to Minsk over her criticism of Olympic team officials.

On Monday, Tsimanouskaya’s husband, Arseniy Zdanevich, confirmed to Sky News that he had fled the country and was in Kyiv. “I didn’t think it would get this serious. I made the decision to leave without thinking twice,” he told the TV station.

Tsimanouskaya, 24, was filmed at the Polish embassy in Tokyo, where she took refuge from pressure by officials to return home. Dmitry Navosha, a sports journalist from Belarus, said she intended to fly to Warsaw this week.