Belarus sprinter faces long exile in Poland after seeking asylum

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has not directly criticised her government but her parents warned her not to return

Just two years ago, Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was greeted by smiling Belarusian athletics and academic officials as she brandished a gold medal from the 2019 Summer Universiade, the young star's greatest victory for her native Belarus yet.

Now that same bureaucracy is threatening to tear her life apart, as her coach and a delegation official warned a crying Tsimanouskaya on leaked audio that she was caught in a spider's web" and suggested that cases of excessive pride" often lead to suicide.