Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was kicked off the Belarusian team after criticizing her coaches in the Tokyo Olympics, is auctioning a medal from the 2019 European Games to support athletes who claim they have been targeted by authorities.
On Aug. 1, Belarusian team officials took the 24-year-old to Tokyo’s Haneda airport against her will, a day before she was scheduled to compete in the 200 meters.
She refused to board the plane back to Belarus and has sought asylum in Poland, afraid for her safety if she returned. Tsimanouskaya told Reuters that her removal from the team was due to her public criticism of “our coaches’ carelessness.”
The medal is being auctioned at Tsimanouskaya’s request in favor of Belarusian athletes who suffered from the activities of Lukashenko’s government, according to the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, a nonprofit that helps athletes incarcerated or sidelined for their political views.
In the aftermath of a stolen presidential election a year ago, President Alexander Lukashenko has been accused of coordinating an extraordinary assault on demonstrators and opposition individuals. He rejects any electoral fraud.
Elite athletes have been affected by the crackdown, with some being imprisoned for participating in street demonstrations.
Tsimanouskaya stated in a statement released by the foundation that the silver medal she won in the team relay at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus, meant a lot to her.
“Those tournaments were crucial for me because they were conducted at my home arena,” she explained. “Many people came to support me, including my family and relatives.”
Two Belarusian officials, athletics head coach Yuri Moisevich and team official Artur Shumak, had their accreditation revoked and were withdrawn from the Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday.
Coaches removed Tsimanouskaya from the Tokyo Olympics on physicians’ advice due to her emotional and psychological state, according to the Belarusian Olympic Committee.
According to Tsimanouskaya in an interview with her with Reuters, two officials told her that the order to send her home came from “high up” in Belarus.