The Belarusian Olympic athlete Kristina Timanowskaja, who fled before her repatriation, arrived in Poland on Wednesday evening. The 24-year-old sprinter traveled from Tokyo via Vienna to Warsaw under the protection of Polish diplomacy. On Sunday she announced that she should be sent back to her home country against her will after complaining about her coaches. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, she said why she did not want to return to Belarus: “My parents concluded that when I returned home I would either go to a mental institution or to prison. We know there are situations like this our country. So my grandmother called me and said: Please don’t come back to Belarus, it’s not safe for you here. I think it would be safer for you if you apply for some kind of political asylum and either in Tokyo stay or travel somewhere in Europe, but not to Belarus. ” She never planned not to return home, said the 24-year-old. She is actually an apolitical person: “I have always stayed away from politics, I have not signed any letters or participated in protests, I have not spoken out against the Belarusian government. I am an athlete and I have not understood anything about political life.” She doesn’t know what the mood is like in the Belarusian Olympic team. Nobody reported it to her, presumably that was also forbidden. “I really hope that one day I can return to Belarus. I haven’t betrayed my homeland, I love it so much. I hope that one day I can return to my free Belarus.” Now she wants to come to rest first. She hopes that she can stay in Poland with her husband: “It’s a very turbulent time in my life. But I hope that it will be over soon. That I can continue my career. And I also think that I will Really want to help people like me. If they are under any pressure, I am ready to help them. I am ready to talk to them. I am ready to help if anyone wants to leave Belarus – I think we will help them too and don’t stay away. ” After the Reuters interview, there was already a press conference with international media for Timanovskaya. One thing is clear: the athlete is no longer an apolitical person.
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