Belarus Olympian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya seeks asylum after refusing forced flight home

Tokyo — Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya entered the Polish Embassy in Tokyo to seek asylum Monday after she said members of her Olympic team tried to forcibly remove her from Japan for publicly criticizing her coaches.

On Sunday, Tsimanouskaya had sought help from the Tokyo police at the airport when she refused to board a flight. "They are trying to get me out of the country without my permission," Tsimanouskaya said in a video posted on social media. "I ask the IOC to intervene."