Openly gay Dutch medalist speedskater Ireen Wust and Russian President Vladimir Putin 'cuddled'; Ireen Wust wins gold at third straight Olympics, becomes first openly gay athlete to medal in Sochi
Ireen Wust of the Netherlands celebrates after winning gold in the women's 3,000-meter speedskating race at the Adler Arena Skating Center during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Dutch speedskater Ireen Wust became the first openly gay athlete to win a medal at the Sochi Games, taking gold in the 3,000 meters on Sunday. But if you expected Wust to use her podium as a platform for gay rights, you obviously don't know her very well. The 27-year-old Wust, a Dutch superstar who also won gold in Vancouver and Turin, has never enjoyed talking about her sexuality in a public forum. The Associated Press recap of Sunday's event didn't even mention that Wust is gay.
“I want to talk about ice skating”, Wust said back in 2010. “You are not asking (fellow Dutch speedskater) Sven Kramer about how his relationship is going. So why would you ask me? If I would’ve had a relationship with a guy, you wouldn’t have asked me either.”
Wust is only one of seven openly gay athletes competing in Sochi, but she more publicly identifies herself as Dutch while on the world stage. She painted her nails the colors of the Dutch flag and later talked about the challenges of having an entire country watch her compete.
''Seventeen million Dutch wanted me to win,'' Wust told reporters in Sochi. ''Now the extreme pressure is off and I can win more.''
Wust will also compete in the 1,500 and 1,000 meters in Sochi.
Check out the hero's welcome that Wust received at the Holland House in Sochi.
Dutch speedskater Ireen Wust and Russian President Vladimir Putin got a little cozy at the Holland Heineken House on Sunday night after the day's events.
"I got a cuddle from him," Wust told Dutch national broadcaster NOS.
That simple statement raised some eyebrows considering Wust is one of the few openly gay athletes at the Winter Games — though some emailers have mentioned she’s bisexual — and Putin has been very vocal about Russian laws regarding homosexuality, especially as it pertains to the Games.
Putin made an impromptu stop at Sochi’s most popular partying venue to celebrate after Russia’s team figure skating victory, and he ran into Wust, who was being honored for her win in the 3,000-meter speedskating race. She bested Russian Olga Graf, who unexpectedly finished third.
Graf became a talking point for Putin and Wust.
"He congratulated me and asked if everything was OK in Russia, and I congratulated him on Olga Graf, of course, for her third place" finish, Wust said. "He was happy to see me, but then he had to leave again.”
However, she wanted to reiterate — again — the most important part of their interaction.
“But I cuddled him," she stated.
Surely, the moment of meeting Putin and subsequently “cuddling” with him, which was probably just a brief European hug, wasn’t lost on Wust. His stance on gays has been so highly publicized that the chance to interact with Putin was probably one that she didn’t want to pass up — and she made the most of their brief time together.
Although we haven’t seen video or photos yet, here’s hoping someone got some footage for posterity.
Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow h
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