Belarusian defector Tsimanouskaya says she has taken Polish citizenship

Athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who defected from Belarus during the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, has said in an Instagram post that she had been awarded Polish citizenship.

"Today I give you my word that I will try 100 per cent to show my full potential, and even if I stand on the podium as a Pole, know that this medal will be for all Belarusians and for our freedom. Long live Belarus! Thank you Poland," she wrote.

Tsimanouskaya took refuge in Poland when she was kicked out of the Olympics a year ago after a dispute with her coaches.

The sprinter became a symbol of resistance in Belarus, where critics of leader Alexander Lukashenko were jailed or forced to flee abroad after he cracked down on mass protests over a 2020 election that the opposition said was rigged.

In an interview with Reuters this month, Tsimanouskaya said she hoped to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 200 metres, the event she had been set to run the day after Belarus removed her from the team in Tokyo.