The athlete had been expected to travel to Warsaw, Poland, where she was offered safe refuge and a humanitarian visa by the country's Prime Minister. She later boarded Austrian Airlines flight OS52. Timanovskaya was seen arriving at Narita airport on Wednesday morning with luggage and wearing blue jeans and a blue sweatshirt. Her drama-filled plight has dominated global headlines around the Games and while her comments were not overtly political, her case has heightened fears of the safety of those who speak out against Belarusian officials. The 24-year-old athlete was set to compete in the women's 200 meters at the Tokyo Games on Monday, but instead said team officials tried to forcibly send her back to Belarus against her wishes after she criticized sporting authorities. Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Imagesīelarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya, who refused to fly home fearing she would be arrested, was seen boarding a Vienna-bound flight out of Tokyo on Wednesday. Belarusian Olympian Kristina Timanovskaya arrives at a boarding gate for her flight out of Narita International Airport in Tokyo on Wednesday.
