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KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – Aug 03, 2021) Ukraine is providing Arseniy Zdanevich, the husband of Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya – who has challenged his Olympic team’s order to leave Tokyo earlier – with all the support he needs during his stay in the country, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Zdanevich confirmed that he had left for Ukraine because his family there are friends who can help him until he finds his wife.
“[The Ukrainian] The Foreign Ministry is in contact with Arseniy Zdanevich, the husband of Belarusian sprinter Tsimanovskaya. We stand ready to provide the necessary assistance while he is in Ukraine and make him feel safe despite the shocking news. I wish him and his wife to successfully overcome these difficult times, “Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
The scandal around Timanovskaya erupted last week. The athlete was supposed to compete in the women’s 100m and 200m sprints at the Tokyo Olympics. However, his coaches decided to involve him in the 4x400m relay as well after two Belarusian athletes were declared ineligible for the competition due to insufficient doping control.
The sprinter criticized the decision on social media, as she was not ready to participate in this competition.
Subsequently, the Belarusian National Olympic Committee said that the coaching staff of the Belarusian athletics team decided to send the sprinter home due to her emotional state. Timanovskaya said Belarusian authorities had tried “by force” to return her home, adding that she would seek asylum in Europe.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said on Monday that Timanovskaya had obtained a Polish humanitarian visa. Later, Anatoly Kotov, a member of the Belarusian national anti-crisis management opposition movement and former secretary of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee, told Sputnik the sprinter would likely arrive in Warsaw on Wednesday.
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