Krystsina Tsimanouskaya

Krystsina Siarheyeuna Tsimanouskaya was born in Klimavichy, a town in eastern Belarus.^[7] Though she raced for fun as a child, she joined competitive athletics late, receiving an offer from an Olympic trainer to join his academy when she was about 15 years old. Her parents were initially worried, thinking she would not achieve an athletic career; they were convinced by Tsimanouskaya and her grandmother.^[7]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Belarus
2015	European Junior Championships	Eskilstuna, Sweden	6	100 m	11.85
			17 h	200 m	24.51
2017	European Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	12 sf	60 m	7.39
	European U23 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	2	100 m	11.54
			4	200 m	23.32
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	31 h	60 m	7.37
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	13 sf	100 m	11.34
			10 sf	200 m	23.03
2019	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	7	60 m	7.26
	Universiade	Naples, Italy	6	100 m	11.44
			1	200 m	23.00
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	26 h	200 m	23.22
	European Games	Minsk, Belarus	2	Team event (100 m)	11.24
			2	100m	11.36
2021	European Indoor Championships	Toruń, Poland	–	60 m	DQ
	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	38 h	100 m	11.47
			–	200 m	DNC
Representing  Poland
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	30th (h)	100 m	11.32
			23rd (sf)	200 m	23.34
			5th	4 × 100 m relay	42.66

Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Tsimanouskaya qualified for her first Olympics in the 100 m and 200 m events, representing Belarus. On 30 July 2021 (postponed from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), she finished 4th in the first round heat of the 100 m event with a time of 11.47.^[8] Prior to the 200 m event, Belarus Olympic Committee (NOC RB) officials withdrew her from the competition.^[9][10][11] On 2 August, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Tsimanouskaya's request to annul the decision of the NOC RB to stop her from participating at the Tokyo Olympics, stating that she was unable to prove her case.^[12][13] On 3 August, the CAS clarified that its judgement was based on the fact that Tsimanouskaya could not prove she would still attempt to compete at Tokyo while she was in the process of seeking asylum in other countries.^[14]

On 30 July 2021, Tsimanouskaya recorded an Instagram video criticising officials from the Belarus Olympic Committee (NOC RB), saying that they had entered her in the 4 × 400 m relay race, a distance she had never contested, without her consent.^[15][16][17] On 1 August 2021, Belarusian media reported the attempt to forcibly return Tsimanouskaya to Belarus.^[18] Tsimanouskaya said to journalists that she was afraid of returning to Belarus,^[19] and she intended to claim asylum.^[20][21] After contacting airport police, on 2 August, she was granted a humanitarian visa to Poland.^[22][23][24]

Though most of western Europe had offered her protection, she reportedly chose to seek asylum in Poland as the country had expressly offered her the opportunity to continue competing;^[25] the IOC made contact with officials from the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOI) regarding Tsimanouskaya resuming competition.^[14] On 4 August, Tsimanouskaya flew to Warsaw Chopin Airport, where she was met by Polish officials and Belarusian expatriates.^[26] President of the IOC Thomas Bach and the Japanese foreign ministry both gave statements on 6 August describing what happened to Tsimanouskaya as "deplorable" and "unjust".^[27]

She confirmed that she had received Polish citizenship in late June 2022.^[1]

Outdoor

• 100 metres – 11.04 (+0.7 m/s, Minsk 2018)
• 200 metres – 22.78 (−1.2 m/s, Minsk 2019)

Indoor

• 60 metres – 7.21 (Mogilyov 2017)
• 200 metres – 23.62 (Mogilyov 2019)

• "The Guardian view on Belarus: an Olympic athlete joins the exodus". The Guardian. 2 August 2021.
• "Opinion: An Olympian reminds us: In Belarus, honesty can be a crime". The Washington Post. 2 August 2021.
• "The Times view on the fugitive athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya: Olympic Trial". The Times. 3 August 2021.