ToplineKrystsina, a Belarusian sprinter, sought asylum at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to avoid reprisals if she returned to Belarus. She is the latest in a long list of athletes who have sought diplomatic protection at large international sporting events.Krystsina TSimanouskaya refused permission to return to Belarus for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games ASSOCIATED PRSThe Key FactsTsimanouskaya was able to flee to Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, despite security concerns, after she evaded an attempt to force her to be repatriated from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. It is not uncommon for athletes to seek asylum at international sporting events. This has happened at almost every Olympic Games since World War Two. Western host countries tend to be more open to asylum seekers, allowing them to receive more claims. Many athletes left the Eastern Bloc during World War II, including about half of Hungary's Olympic team at the 1956 Melbourne Games. They were informed of the Soviet Union's brutal invasion of Hungary. More than 100 athletes also fled the 1972 Munich Games, which was then West Germany. Over time, the nationalities of asylum seekers have changed. During the Sydney 2000 Games, 145 people came from different countries and overstayed their visas. 35 were granted political asylum, while 62 were declared missing. When London hosted the Games 2012, 82 athletes and officials applied for asylum in the U.K. (52 of these were granted refugee status). Many competitors from Eritrea and Sudan, Guinea, Rwanda, and Guinea disappeared from the London Games. They were either found later or presented themselves to formalize their asylum claim. This included seven Cameroon athletes who fought for the entire Cameroon boxing team. One of them had fled to China during the 2008 Beijing Games.Important BackgroundMany athletes who are unable to return home from large-scale international sporting events, especially in Western countries, seek refuge abroad. Many do so out of political reasons and are known as defectors, or asylum seekers, according to international law. Marie Provaznikova (a Czechoslovakian gymnastics coach) was said to be the first person to defect from an Olympic modern. This happened at the 1948 London Games, and nearly every Games since then has seen more athletes request asylum. Not just for the Olympics, but also for the Commonwealth Games. In 2018, 200 Australian athletes and officials applied to asylum. 21 asylum seekers sought asylum in Glasgow in 2014. (An additional 39 were not listed) and 45 sought asylum in Melbourne in 2006. When Brazil hosted the 2014 World Cup, at least 200 Ghanaian soccer enthusiasts sought asylum there. Eritrean soccer players sometimes defect while on vacation. Sport is an opportunity for some countries to travel overseas. North Korea is one example of a country that seems to be keen to prevent defections. They seem to have tight control over their athletes. It seems that the strategy works for the Hermit Kingdom, as there are no reported athletes who have defected to the Olympics.Big Number29. 29. The International Olympic Committee established the team for Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games to allow athletes to continue competing even if they are forced to leave their homelands. These athletes hail from Syria, South Sudan, Eritrea and Venezuela. Rio hosted 10 competitors under the banner.Surprising FactGreece was unable to handle the large numbers of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers who arrived on its shores. In 2015, it had to move people into an old Olympic stadium. Many venues that were built for the 2004 Athens Olympics ended up in disrepair or became obsolete after the Games.TangentA Ugandan weightlifter, who had traveled to Tokyo to compete in the Games, was missing from his hotel room. He left a note indicating that he wanted to work in Japan.Continue readingThe Case of the Disappearing Athletes, NYTOlympic Sprinter Given Humanitarian Visa by Poland after Evacuating Forced Attempts To Repatriate To Belarus (Forbes).List of Olympic Defectors (NPR), Missing Athletes
