VIENNA -- Poland has taken in Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought to defect from her authoritarian home country, a move that earned Warsaw diplomatic points despite its own patchy human rights record.

Tsimanouskaya told reporters Thursday in Warsaw that she is "happy to be here, happy to be in safety," and expressed gratitude for the support provided by Poland. She said she plans to make a new life for herself there with her husband, who has also received a Polish visa, but is "willing to return to Belarus once I'm sure that I will be safe there."

"She will be able to develop without any obstacles and, if she wishes, receive further support," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote Tuesday on Twitter.

The diplomatic boost for Poland is significant. "We welcome the fact that she has now been given a humanitarian visa by Poland," Nabila Massrali, a spokeswoman for European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said.

After assuming power in 2015, Poland's ruling Law and Justice party has raised concerns within the EU with laws and practices that threaten the independence of judges, media freedoms and personal liberties.

Poland is seeking roughly 24 billion euros ($28.4 billion) from the EU's pandemic economic revival fund, but the European Commission has balked at handing over the money over those concerns.

Relations between NATO member Poland and pro-Russia Belarus are strained. Warsaw has issued visas to more than 90,000 people from its neighbor this year, including humanitarian visas, opening its doors to opposition activists facing political repression.

The athlete had sought asylum at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Sunday after refusing to board a flight back to Belarus out of fear for her safety. Poland moved unusually quickly to grant Tsimanouskaya a humanitarian visa .