September 22, Pozirk. Maryja Žodzik, a Belarus-born high jumper, secured the Polish team’s only medal at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo yesterday and declared she is not willing to return to Belarus.
The Belarusian team did not compete as it was suspended by World Athletics.
“I have already settled in Poland,” Poland’s Interia Sport quoted Žodzik as saying. “Some time ago, there was hope that something would change [in Belarus’ politics], but now I think there is no chance of that.”
The athlete obtained Polish citizenship in March 2024 and represented Poland at the Olympics in Paris the same year.
Originally from the Brest region’s Baranavičy, Žodzik has been living in Poland since 2022. In 2021, she missed the Tokyo Olympics because officials from the Belarusian Athletic Federation failed to arrange her doping tests on time.
Five years ago in Belarus, she signed an open letter to condemn election fraud and police violence. Later, she also publicly condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Most of the athletes who supported the 2020 postelection protests in Belarus faced reprisals and were deprived of the opportunity to compete in Belarus. Belarusian sprinter Kryścina Cimanoŭskaya also represents Poland after being persecuted in Belarus.
