Nine days that shook the Olympics - the defection of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who left the Olympic Games in Tokyo and seeks asylum in Poland, and Belarusian opposition politician Pavel Latushka attend a news conference in Warsaw, Poland August 5, 2021. REUTERS/Darek Golik

(Reuters) - Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya defected whilst in Japan for the Olympics after a dispute with her coaches that made her fear for her safety back in her authoritarian-ruled homeland.

The incident, a surprise political drama amid the sporting action in Tokyo, was reminiscent of the defections of top athletes from Soviet bloc nations during the Cold War.