SOCHI — A moment of triumph nearly turned embarrassing for Russian speedskater Olga Graf. The 30-year-old gave the home country a reason to cheer Sunday, winning Russia’s first medal when she surprisingly took a bronze in the women’s 3,000 meters. She even got a note of praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When Graf’s time flashed on the scoreboard — 4 minutes, 3.47 seconds was a personal best — the crowd at Adler Arena erupted in cheers.
She whooped it up on her warm-down lap, then unzipped her skin-tight suit right down to the belly button. She was wearing nothing underneath.
“I totally forgot,” Graf said sheepishly through a translator. “We have very good suits and they are very tight. … You just want to breathe and you want to take off your suit.”
When she realized her faux pas, Graf quickly zipped the suit back up with a mortified smile.
“Only afterward,” she said, “did I realize that maybe this video will appear on YouTube. But I don’t think it will be so bad.”
