Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

       MOSCOW (Kyodo) -- A silver medal won in a past international competition by Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, the Belarusian athlete who went into self-exile in Poland, has been sold for $21,000 in an internet auction, a group supporting her efforts revealed Friday.

       According to Russia's RIA news agency, a U.S. buyer put in the winning bid. Tsimanouskaya told the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation that she did not expect her medal to fetch such a high price.

       She also reiterated her plan to the group that she will use the auction's proceeds to assist Belarusian athletes, the news agency said.

       After being pulled from the Tokyo Olympics against her will by her team, the sprinter refused to board a flight for Belarus at Tokyo's Haneda airport and sought protection from Japanese authorities, saying she was being forced to return to Belarus for criticizing her coaches and she feared for her safety if she returned home.

       She eventually flew to Poland, which granted her a humanitarian visa. After arriving in the Eastern European country, Tsimanouskaya had said she would auction off her silver medal from the 100-meter dash in an event in Belarus hosted by the European Olympic Committee in 2019.

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