Speed skater Ireen Wüst was the first gay athlete to win a gold medal at the Sochi Olympic Games on Sunday. Wüst also medaled in the Torino games in 2006, as well as the Vancouver games in 2010. Both she and fellow Dutch skater Sven Kramer won gold in the female and male events, respectively over the weekend. Wüst beat defending champion Martina Sablikova in the 3,000 meters
“Seventeen million Dutch wanted me to win,” Wüst, 27, said according to CBS News.“Now the extreme pressure is off, and I can win more.”
She is now the most decorated female skater from the Netherlands, with three gold medals, and a silver medal.
The surprising thing about Wüst's medal win, however, was her interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after. As Wüst celebrated with a beer, she later told a Dutch broadcaster that she "got a cuddle from him" at a party held in her honor.
"He congratulated me and asked if everything was OK in Russia and I congratulated him on [Russian speedskater] Olga Graf, of course, for her third place [in the 3,000 meters]. He was happy to see me, but then he had to leave again. But I cuddled him."
