A vocal critic of the Belarusian regime, Tsimanouskaya first came to wider attention during the previous games in Tokyo when she released a video claiming she had been entered by the regime into the 4x400 relay against her will. When an attempt was made to forcibly return her to Belarus, she managed to alert police officers patrolling Tokyo Airport and was placed in protective custody.

Warned that she faced being committed to a psychiatric unit if she returned to Belarus, her story caused an international outcry. Granted a humanitarian visa by Poland, she received Polish citizenship in 2022 and has since represented her newly-adopted country on the track.

With the Olympics looming, Tsimanouskaya says that her family back in Belarus has been subjected to an ongoing campaign of harassment in a bid to unsettle her.

After finishing a disappointing fourth at a track meeting in Dessau, she revealed her turmoil.

“I want freedom for my country, I want to go there on weekends, visit my parents, meet friends, walk around Minsk and go to my favorite cafe,” she wrote on Instagram.

“My house was taken away, now they have reached my family, where my father lived all his life. He was a firefighter and my mother was a bank employee. I don't understand what my family still has to go through because of my decisions. No one but me is responsible for them. If the Belarusian authorities have any questions, I invite them to my house for searches and talks,” she added.

The post disappeared a few hours later but was followed by another equally heartfelt message.

“It's hard to prepare for running and competitions when people come to your family's house the day before, it's hard to prepare when there is a criminal case against you in your home country, it's hard when you don't know what will happen to your family tomorrow,” Tsimanouskaya wrote.

The athlete, however, has remained defiant. “I’m preparing for my next start,” she wrote, “and I still believe in myself.”

The Olympics begin in Paris on July 26.