Alexander Lukashenko
FILE - Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, July 30, 2021. The Belarusian track coach who tried to force the sprinter out of the Tokyo Olympics and back to Belarus after she was critical of the team has been charged with breaching the sport's integrity standards. The Athletics Integrity Unit announced the charges against Yury Maisevich on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Belarus coach who removed sprinter from Olympics charged

By Eddie Pells Jan. 19, 2023 11:45 AM EST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. (Nikolay Petrov/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
Belarus hockey official banned 5 years for political abuse

By Graham Dunbar Sep. 08, 2021 09:02 AM EDT

Poland gives humanitarian visa to 2nd Belarus athlete

Sep. 05, 2021 11:40 AM EDT
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A lawmaker in Poland says a second Belarussian athlete, an equestrian who was excluded from the country's Olympic team after criticizing...

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, left, and her husband Arseni Zdanevich speak to The Associated Press in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday Aug. 11, 2021. The runner, who has found refuge to rebuild her life in Poland, described the feeling of safety when police took her away from her national team officials. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Belarus sprinter feels safe, looks to future in Poland

By Vanessa Gera Aug. 11, 2021 04:04 PM EDT

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who arrived in Poland on Wednesday fearing reprisals at home after criticizing her coaches at the Tokyo Games, holds up an Olympic-related T-shirt with the slogan "I Just Want to Run" after her news conference in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. Tsimanouskaya reached Poland by plane from Tokyo through Vienna, a circuitous route due to security concerns, days after she accused team officials of trying to force her to fly back to Belarus, where an authoritarian government has relentlessly pursued its critics. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
2 coaches removed from Tokyo Olympics in Belarus case

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 05, 2021 10:17 PM EDT

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who came to Poland fearing reprisals at home after criticizing her coaches at the Tokyo Games, holds her face mask before she talks to journalists in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Belarus runner used quick thinking to avoid being sent home

By Monika Scislowska And Daria Litvinova Aug. 05, 2021 06:35 AM EDT

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has assuringly landed in an Austrian airline aircraft at Schwechat International Airport in Vienna Austria, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. Tsimanouskaya plans to seek refuge in Europe after accusing team officials of trying to force her to leave the Tokyo Games early. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner)
Belarus Olympic runner who feared going home lands in Poland

By Vladimir Isachenkov And David Keyton Aug. 04, 2021 04:54 AM EDT

FILE In this file pool photo taken on Saturday, April 4, 2020, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko takes part in a hockey match during Republican amateur competitions in Minsk, Belarus. A feud between Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya and team officials that prompted her to seek refuge in Poland has again cast a spotlight on the repressive environment in the ex-Soviet nation, where authorities have unleashed a relentless crackdown on dissent. (Andrei Pokumeiko/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)
FC Minsk vs FC BGU Minsk 4/5/2020

Aug. 04, 2021 04:19 AM EDT

FILE In this file photo taken from video, Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya speaks during a zoom interview with the Associated Press in Japan, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. A feud between Tsimanouskaya and team officials that prompted her to seek refuge in Poland has again cast a spotlight on the repressive environment in the ex-Soviet nation, where authorities have unleashed a relentless crackdown on dissent. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin, File)
EXPLAINER: What happens when Olympics and politics collide?

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 04, 2021 04:11 AM EDT

FILE In this file photo taken on Friday, July 9, 2021, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, left, presents the national flag to the captain of Belarus National Olympic team Ivan Tikhon ahead of the Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo, Minsk, Belarus. Lukashenko, who has a keen interest in sports and served as the head of the Belarus National Olympic Committee for nearly a quarter-century before handing over the post to his older son in February, has sternly warned the country's Olympic athletes that they better show high performance. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)
EXPLAINER: What is behind Belarus athlete's Olympics crisis?

By Yuras Karmanau And Vladimir Isachenkov Aug. 04, 2021 03:47 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Belarus sprinter says punishment awaited her back home

By Daniel Kozin And Daria Litvinova Aug. 03, 2021 05:10 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Poland grants visa to Belarus Olympian who fears for safety

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 02, 2021 05:16 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Japan: Belarus runner involved in airport standoff is safe

By Graham Dunbar And Daniel Kozin Aug. 01, 2021 12:00 PM EDT

Yulimar Rojas, of Venezuela, competes in the final of the women's triple jump at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Olympics Latest: Belarus runner says team forcing departure

Jul. 31, 2021 09:18 PM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014 file photo, Belarus' Andrei Krauchanka celebrates after an attempt in the high jump of the men's decathlon during the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. An Olympic silver medalist who is one of Belarus’ most lauded athletes says he is going on a 10-day hunger strike to support victims of political repression in his country. Krauchanka said Friday, April 30, 2021 that along with the hunger strike, he is selling his European indoor decathlon gold medal from 2011 to help the families of political prisoners. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)
Belarus Olympian to go on hunger strike as political protest

Apr. 30, 2021 12:52 PM EDT

Viktor Lukashenko, an oldest son of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, attends the Belarusian Olympic Committee session in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Viktor Lukashenko, who advises his father on national security, was previously the national Olympic body's vice president under his father, whose disputed victory in state elections last August led to ongoing protests in the former Soviet republic. The Belarusian Olympic Committee elected the son of President Alexander Lukashenko as leader on Friday, despite both men being suspended by the IOC and barred from the Tokyo Games. (Andrei Stasevich/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
IOC denounces Belarus Olympic election of Lukashenko's son

Mar. 08, 2021 12:45 PM EST

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrive at the mountain resort of Krasnaya Polyana near the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Belarusian Olympic body elects Lukashenko's son as leader

Feb. 26, 2021 06:15 AM EST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting on the work of the economy in the current year in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
IOC suspends Belarus president Lukashenko from Olympic Games

By Graham Dunbar Dec. 07, 2020 12:29 PM EST

Belarusian pensioners wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus attend an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. Large crowds of retirees have protested in the Belarusian capital to demand the resignation of the country's authoritarian leader who won his sixth term in office in a disputed election. Over 2,000 pensioners marched down a central avenue in Minsk in what has turned into a regular Monday rally. (AP Photo)
Belarus' Olympic body faces IOC punishment amid protests

Nov. 25, 2020 03:09 PM EST

Audience members cheer for Wataru Tanigawa of Japan as he competes in the rings during an international gymnastics meet in Tokyo on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. Gymnasts from four countries of China, Russia, U.S. and Japan performed in the meet at Yoyogi National Stadium First Gymnasium, a venue planned to be used in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the summer 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Olympic leaders raise hopes for safe Tokyo Games with fans

By Graham Dunbar Nov. 11, 2020 02:19 PM EST