Belarus forced athlete to leave Olympics after criticism: NGO

MOSCOW: Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya was forced out of the Tokyo Olympics after she publicly criticised sports officials of the country, a non-governmental organisation said Sunday.

The 24-year-old had criticised Belarus’s athletics federation for entering her into the women’s 400m relay in Tokyo without notice.

“It turns out our great bosses as always decided everything for us,” Timanovskaya said on her Instagram stories that are no longer available.

She later said in a separate Instagram post that she wouldn’t have “reacted so harshly if I had been told in advance, explained the whole situation and asked if I was able to run 400 metres.”

“But they decided to do everything behind my back,” she added.

The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) — an organisation that supports opposition athletes — said on its Telegram on Sunday that “representatives of the Belarusian national team are deporting” Timanovskaya.

The group later said that the runner, who was due to compete in the 200m on Monday, was at a Tokyo airport and posted a video of her addressing the International Olympic Committee.

“I am under pressure and they are trying to take me out of the country without my consent.”