WNBA star Brittney Griner won her third Olympics gold medal in Paris.
But this latest medal will have a more special meaning than the previous two. That was evident this past weekend when Griner broke down in tears on the gold medal podium as the Star Spangled Banner blared throughout the arena.
It was Griner’s first Olympics since returning from captivity in Russa, where she was originally sentenced to nine years in prison for bringing a personal amount of hashish oil aboard a domestic flight with her Russian Premier League team.
“The first train ride was a little rough for me. Last time I was on a train overseas, it was a prison train,” she said, according to The Boston Globe. “So, you know, that was a little rough. But other than that, my teammates have been all there for me, you know, my family and my wife being here, so I had a really good support system. But there were a few moments of like, ‘Wow.’”
Griner explained the tears on the podium to reporters after the ceremony.
“You know, I was on the podium, the flag was going up, and as soon as the anthem started like that, tears were coming down my face,” she said. “It means so much to me. My family didn’t think I would be here, like I’ve said before, and then to be here, winning gold for my country, representing [Team USA] when my country fought for me so hard, to even be standing here, yeah, this gold medal is going to hold a special place amongst the other two.”
