Japanese lawmaker tries to visit detained Belarusian sprinter

Tsimanouskaya, who was due to compete in the women's 200 metres on Monday, told Reuters she did not plan to return to her home country. She said she was taken to the airport against her wishes on Sunday to board a flight back home after she complained about national coaches at the Tokyo Olympics. She sought the protection of Japanese police at Tokyo's Haneda airport so she would not have to board the flight.

Taiga Ishikawa, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, visited the police station where Tsimanouskaya was last seen by Reuters reporters. At around 7 a.m. local time (2200 GMT) Ishikawa emerged from the police station and said that he had spoken with the airport deputy police chief, who told him Ms. Tsimanouskaya had left the police station.

"So I asked where she is and he responded I can't answer that," said Ishikawa.

Tsimanouskaya filmed a video that was published on Telegram by the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, in which she asked the International Olympic Committee to get involved in her case.

The IOC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A source at the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, which supports athletes jailed or sidelined for their political views, said Tsimanouskaya planned to request asylum in Germany or Austria on Monday.