Brittney Griner and the U.S. women’s basketball team won gold at the Paris Olympics after beating the host nation France 67-66 in the final game on Sunday. And though that was Griner’s third Olympic gold medal, she explained this particular accolade would “hold a special place amongst the other two”, Yahoo Sports reported.
Griner during the award ceremony was filled with emotion as she was seen crying when the national anthem was being played. “My emotions are all over the place,” she explained.
“My country fought for me to get back,” Griner, who was locked up in a Russian prison for 10 months, continued. “And I was able to bring home gold for my country. There’s just no greater feeling.”
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The 33-year-old going to Paris to represent her national team marked her first time traveling overseas after her highly-publicized arrest and subsequent detainment in Russia. As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Griner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February 2022 for allegedly possessing vaporizer cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage which she reportedly said was used to treat a medical condition. She was later sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.
The two-time Olympic champion had been playing for the Russian women’s basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason. The 33-year-old was also part of other WNBA stars who were set to feature for teams in Russia as well as Ukraine for the winter season, the New York Post reported.
Griner was eventually released in December 2022 following a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout. She said boarding trains with her teammates in France were the first time she had done that since “a prison train” in Russia, Yahoo Sports reported.
Griner also explained it hit her “pretty hard” after she won her third Olympic gold medal. “I didn’t think I would be here,” she revealed. “And to be here, winning gold, for my country, representing, when my country fought for me so hard to even be standing here,” — that’s why this gold medal, compared to the other two, was different.”
“It’s a huge moment for BG. We all know what she’s gone through,” Griner’s Team USA teammate and Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson also said. “It was so good just to see her happy.”
Brittney Griner talks about the emotions she faced on the podium after winning gold for USA ❤️ pic.twitter.com/NCGF4DaS0g
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 12, 2024
