AFRAID

Belarusian Sprinter Under Japanese Police Protection After Olympic Exit

Kristina Timanovskaya fears she’ll face harsh penalties after calling out her coaches for negligence and being removed from the Games.

The Olympics have become a nightmare for Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya. On Sunday, she shared to her Instagram followers that she’s under the protection of the Japanese police to avoid being sent back to her home country after criticizing her coaches for registering her for the wrong event. “I am afraid that in Belarus they might put me in jail,” Timanovskaya said. “I am worried about my safety. And I think that at the moment it is not safe for me in Belarus.” Timanovskaya was removed from the Olympics by the Belarusian National Olympic Committee, allegedly after consultations with a doctor over her “emotional and psychological state,” which Timanovskaya has denied. After she called out her coaches for negligence, Timanovskaya said a representative for the national team told her to pack her things and board a flight home. If she refused, Timanovskaya said, she would lose her place on the team and face “possibly other consequences.” Timanovskaya said she fears that her critique of her coaches angered Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who doesn’t respond well to criticism from athletes, according to Belarusian diplomat Pavel Slunkin.