TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A Belarusian athlete who refused to board a flight after she said she was taken to an Tokyo airport against her will was safe and in the hands of authorities, the International Olympic Committee said on Monday.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, spent the night in an airport hotel, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said at media conference, after she sought protection from Japanese police at Haneda airport late on Sunday.

Adams said the IOC would continue conversations with Tsimanouskaya, who remains in Tokyo, on Monday morning. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Lincoln Feast)