Olympic athlete from Belarus under police protection

After critical words about the sports officials in her country, the Belarusian Olympic athlete Kristina Timanovskaya is said to be under the protection of the Japanese police.

Tokyo - The Belarusian Olympic athlete Kristina Timanovskaya should be kidnapped from Tokyo by the authoritarian authorities in her country, according to the opposition.

After public criticism of Belarusian sports officials, she should be flown out of Japan against her will, said the 24-year-old in a video published by the opposition Belarusian athletes' association Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) on Sunday.

The BSSF spoke of an attempted “violent” departure.

Timanovskaya later told the BSSF that she was now under the protection of the Japanese police: "I am now safe." According to independent Belarusian media, she had already been taken to the Tokyo airport.

The Belarusian Olympic Committee (NOK) had stated on Telegram that the athlete had been examined by a doctor and would not take part in any further competitions because of her "emotional and psychological state".

Timanovskaya called this a "lie" on Instagram.

In an interview with the radio station Euroradio, she said: "You just told me to pack my things and fly home."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on request that it was monitoring the case and had asked the NOK for clarification.

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya welcomed the rapid IOC response.

"It is important to investigate the violations of athletes' rights by the NOC," she wrote on Twitter.

According to the BSSF, Timanovskaya wanted to ask for asylum in Europe and to do so at the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. The runner should have started on Monday in the run over 200 meters. She had previously expressed criticism of sports officials in her country. The athlete suspected that other Belarusian athletes would not be able to compete because not enough negative doping samples had been submitted for them. dpa