A Belarusian sprinter who appealed for international help to avoid being forced home prematurely from the Tokyo Olympic Games has obtained citizenship from Poland, the country where she defected with her husband last year as she fled Japan.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, also known as Kryscina Cimanouska, wrote on Instagram on August 29 that she had participated in an athletics meeting in Poland and "for the first time was representing my club as a Pole, not as a Belarusian."
"I am incredibly happy to represent my club and at last take part in meets without any obstacles, unfortunately not as a Belarusian, but sometimes you must sacrifice something to stay again on the podium," Tsimanouskaya wrote.
The 25-year-old sprinter also placed a document on Instagram showing her Polish citizenship paper signed by by the country's president, Andrzej Duda, on June 28.
In early August last year, Tsimanouskaya took refuge in the Polish Embassy in Tokyo as Belarusian team officials tried to force her onto a flight back to Minsk after she criticized them. Two days later she boarded a plane to Europe, reaching Warsaw via a stopover in Vienna.
Poland then granted the sprinter and her husband, who fled to Poland via Ukraine, humanitarian visas.
Tsimanouskaya's plight became a major story from the Tokyo Games and refocused international attention on repression in Belarus a year after protests erupted when authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory in a disputed presidential election in August 2020.
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Several protesters have been killed and thousands arrested during mass demonstrations demanding Lukashenka's resignation. There have also been credible reports of torture during a widening security crackdown.
Last year, Lukashenka's son Viktar took over leadership of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee from his father in a move that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to recognize.
Also in August last year, a coach of the Vitsyaz handball club in Minsk, Kanstantsin Yakauleu, fled to Ukraine weeks after he served 15 days in jail for taking part in an unsanctioned anti-government rally.
Belarusian heptathlete Yana Maksimava and her Olympic-medalist husband, decathlete Andrey Krauchanka, also announced at the time that they had decided to stay in Germany with their child due to the ongoing crackdown in Belarus.
Belarus has been banned from competing at most internationally sanctioned sports events around the world for its support of Russia and its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has not directly participated in the war, but it has allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to stage its attacks.