Agency :
Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya flew from Tokyo to Vienna under the diplomatic protection of Poland on Wednesday, less than 72 hours after refusing her team’s orders to return home.
The apparent Cold War-style defection of an Olympic athlete had become one of the major news stories of the Games, and could further isolate Belarus, which is under Western financial and economic sanctions after a crackdown by President Alexander Lukashenko against the opposition since last year.
After spending two nights in Poland’s embassy, the 24-year-old sprinter walked onto the plane at Narita airport wearing blue jeans, a blue blouse and sunglasses with “I RUN CLEAN” written on them.
She was initially due to leave on a flight to Warsaw. A Polish government source said she was switched at the last minute to a flight to Vienna, over concerns about her privacy and security after news of the plan became public and reporters booked seats on the flight.
Concern was particularly high because of an incident in May, when a Ryanair flight was forced to land in Belarus and a dissident journalist was arrested, the Polish source said.
