Belarus Olympian receives Polish visa

Sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya received a ticket from an activist group on Monday to fly to the Polish capital of Warsaw after the country granted her a humanitarian visa. Polish deputy foreign minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk said the 24-year-old can seek a refugee visa when she arrives in the country. Tsimanouskaya refused to return home from Tokyo on Sunday after publicly criticizing her country’s Olympic committee. The government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is known to oppress dissenters and critics. Tsimanouskaya’s husband, Arseni Zdanevich, told a Russian newspaper he already left Belarus for Ukraine.

Any other updates from the Olympics? U.S. gymnast Simone Biles competed in the balance beam final on Tuesday after stepping back from other events with health concerns. The United States women’s soccer team will play against Australia for bronze on Thursday after losing to Canada in the semifinals. The United States placed second in the men’s 400-meter hurdles on Tuesday after Norwegian Karsten Warholm of Norway broke his world record to place first.

Dig deeper: Listen to Jenny Lind Schmitt’s report on political unrest in Belarus.