OREANDA-NEWS. Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya changed the route and flew to Vienna instead of Warsaw. This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the statement of the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

The department confirmed that Timanovskaya was already on her way to the country and promised to share additional information soon. The Foreign Ministry did not explain why the athlete abruptly changed her flight and refused to fly to Poland.

Austrian Airlines also declined to comment on information about Timanovskaya's flight, the company referred to the law on the protection of personal data.

Earlier, the Belarusian athlete, shortly before landing at Tokyo airport for a flight to Warsaw, switched to a flight to Vienna. The reasons for the change of destination at the last moment are not specified. According to some reports, such a decision could have been made by employees of the Polish embassy who accompanied the athlete due to the fact that several foreign journalists were planning to fly to Warsaw.

Kristina Timanovskaya criticized Belarusian sports officials, after which the National Olympic Committee of Belarus expelled Timanovskaya from the national team at the Tokyo Olympics on the eve of the race, citing her emotional and psychological state. The athlete herself stated that she was being deported from Japan against her will.