Aleksandra Herasimenia Was Attacked In Warsaw
- 13.07.2026, 9:56
An unknown person struck the Belarusian champion in the head.
Aleksandra Herasimenia, a multiple world and European swimming champion and three-time Olympic medalist, was attacked in Warsaw. This was reported by the editor-in-chief of the website Charter97.org, Natallia Radzina, on Facebook:
— I think this is worth sharing. A few days ago, my friend AAleksandra Herasimenia, a well-known Belarusian athlete and world swimming champion, was attacked right in the center of Warsaw. At the Warszawa Zachodnia bus station, where Sasha had gone on business on the morning of July 10, an unknown man, about 35 years old, approached her from behind and punched her in the head. He didn’t say a word and walked away immediately, while Sasha, in shock and pain, didn’t immediately realize what had happened. There was no one to call for help; people were rushing to catch their trains and didn’t even notice what had happened. Once Sasha had regained her composure, she went to the police.
I arrived to meet Sasha at the Warsaw III District Police Station (Opaczewska 8), where she gave her statement and described what had happened. However, in my presence, a police officer said that finding the perpetrator would be quite difficult: it’s not certain that the incident was caught on camera; it’s unclear what the image quality would be, if there is a video recording at all; and, ultimately, this person might not be in the police database. Even if he is found, it’s unlikely he’ll be jailed, since if the injuries aren’t severe or visible, it’s considered a minor act of hooliganism.
I’m not drawing any conclusions from this story yet, and I hope that the attacker will be found after all. I just want to remind everyone that Aleksandra Herasimenia is not just a well-known Belarusian athlete. For participating in the 2020 protests in Minsk, she was sentenced to 12 years in prison and had all her property confiscated. Sasha was granted political asylum in Poland, and I hope that the case regarding the attack on her will be properly investigated.
Aleksandra Herasimenia confirmed the attack to the website Charter97.org:
— I never imagined that something like this could happen in Warsaw in broad daylight, with such a large crowd of people and, I hope, working security cameras. I don’t know what happened, but I hope the Polish authorities will get to the bottom of it and that the person responsible will be punished.
Belarusian swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist Aleksandra Herasimenia sided with protesters against election fraud in 2020. On August 18, 2020, she signed an open letter from Belarusian athletes demanding an end to the violence in the country.
In October 2020, Gerasimenya left for Ukraine, where she headed the Sports Solidarity Foundation, which helped athletes who had supported the protests. In 2022, she moved to Warsaw, where she launched swimming classes. In December 2022, the athlete was sentenced in absentia in Belarus to 12 years in prison, and her property was confiscated.
In 2024, the Council of the Belarusian People’s Republic awarded Aleksandra Herasimenia the Medal of the Order of the Pogoń.