TOKYO, Aug 3 (Reuters) – The Olympics governing body was probing Belarus’s treatment of an athlete seeking refuge, while Norway’s Karsten Warholm demolished a world record and Simone Biles was set for a highly anticipated return to the gymnastics stage in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it expected a report later in the day from the Belarusian team on the case of sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought protection in the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday after refusing her team’s orders to fly home.

She was expected to fly on Wednesday to Poland, which has offered her a humanitarian visa. The IOC spoke twice on Monday to Tsimanouskaya, who was in a safe and secure place, spokesman Mark Adams said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime of intolerable “transnational repression” in the matter. 

On the track, Warholm shattered his own world record in the men’s 400 metres hurdles final with a blistering 45.94-second run, besting American Rai Benjamin, who also beat last month’s record of 46.70 seconds. 

“Man, it’s so crazy. It’s by far the biggest moment of my life,” Warholm said after carving his name among the greats of athletics history and crouching in apparent disbelief on the track. “You know the cliche that it hasn’t sunk in yet? I don’t think it has, but I feel ecstatic.”  

In women’s cycling, Germany won the gold medal in team pursuit at the Izu Velodrome, beating Britain in a thrilling final after both teams traded world records in the heats. The United States took the bronze. 

Outdoor athletes were once again battling the Tokyo summer weather as well as their competitors, with highs around 33 degrees Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) and rain-forest humidity.

Athletes also lacked the cheers of fans, as organisers have banned spectators from almost all events due to COVID-19, which had already delayed the Games by a year.

The lack of fans, however, is not depressing viewership, the IOC said, as debut events such as surfing and skateboarding attract a global buzz. 

Host city Tokyo is enduring its fourth coronavirus state of emergency with infections spiking to record highs and hospitals under increasing strain. 

Tokyo Olympics organisers have reported 294 Games-related COVID-19 cases since July 1 even as strict testing and monitoring measures continue inside the Olympic “bubble”.

Positive COVID-19 tests have forced Greece to pull out of the artistic swimming competitions. 

EYES ON BILES

The American Biles, considered by many the greatest gymnast ever, will ensure a blockbuster finale to gymnastics by participating in the balance beam final, starting at 5:50 p.m. (0850 GMT), her first competition in a week. 

She will look to end a tumultuous Olympics on a golden high, after having abruptly dropped out of the team event earlier in the Games citing mental health issues and increasing the global spotlight on the pressures elite athletes face.

Biles, her hopes of six gold medals already shattered, will attempt to conquer the “twisties”, a terrifying condition in which gymnasts lose their orientation while doing twists and gravity-defying mid-air tumbles. 

Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who had cited depression in taking a break from tennis in recent months, lost to the world No. 42 in the third round last week, one of many shocking results in this year’s Games.

Also making history, the first openly transgender Olympian, New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, said she does not consider herself a trailblazer and just wanted to be seen as any other athlete on sport’s biggest stage.

Hubbard made an unexpected early exit on Monday, eliminated just 10 minutes into her +87 kg contest, ending an appearance that provoked controversy.

Transgender rights advocates applauded her being allowed to compete, while some former athletes and activists believe her background gives her an unfair physiological advantage and undermines efforts for women’s equality in sport.

Away from the competition, some Australian athletes caused damage to their rooms in the athletes’ village before departing while the team’s mascots – an emu and a kangaroo – went missing but have since returned, team chief Ian Chesterman said.

Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, Mitch Phillips; Additional reporting by Mari Saito, Steve Keating, Elaine Lies, Martin Petty; Writing by William Mallard; Editng by Lincoln Feast and Himani Sarkar