The Polish Embassy in Tokyo is located in a quiet neighborhood in Meguro Ward. But on Monday, the atmosphere there was unusually tense as about 80 reporters, photographers and TV crew members swarmed around waiting for Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya to show up.
At around 5 p.m., the 24-year-old Olympian, who narrowly escaped being sent back home against her will by the Beralus Olympic Committee on Sunday, was escorted to the embassy with police by her side. She feared that if she went back to Belarus, it could have meant the end of her career.
“She contacted us on Monday morning ... and I met with her when she arrived and assisted with procedures to grant her a humanitarian visa,” Poland’s Ambassador to Japan Pawel Milewski said in an exclusive interview with The Japan Times on Thursday. “She was worried about her family, so we gave her a safe Wi-Fi router to contact loved ones.”