MAZURONAK Volha

General
TRAINING FOR TOKYO
In 2020 she was one of hundreds of Belarusian athletes and sports industry members who signed an open letter contesting the results of the nation's presidential elections and calling for an end to violence against protesting citizens. She had been part of the Belarusian Armed Forces sports club from 2012 as an army-affiliated athlete, but claims that after signing the letter she was called up to the army to serve full-time. She said this affected her ability to train and prepare for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. "The essence of the letter was a simple message - beatings and violence are crimes against humanity. In my opinion, there was nothing criminal in the letter. But then, suddenly, I was sent to the army to serve for real. My salary was cut by five. I cannot hope to have a good result at the Olympic Games without the ability to train in the mountains in Kenya. People I have spoken to said that I was great and shared my opinion, but they still advised me to withdraw my signature from the letter so as not to suffer in preparations for the Olympics. But I will not despair, I am convinced in life you should rely on yourself. These tests will only make us stronger." (BSSF Facebook page, 31 Oct 2020; pressball.by, 27 Oct 2020)