Brittney Griner Tearfully Accepts Her Third Olympic Medal

Two years after being sentenced to serve time in a Russian penal colony, Brittney Griner has won her third Olympic medal. On Sunday, she helped the U.S. women’s basketball team overcome a 10-point third-quarter deficit to secure a 67–66 win against France, earning the gold medal.

The victory marks the team’s eighth consecutive gold medal. As the players celebrated their win, Griner could be seen embracing her medal, tears of gratitude streaming down her face. Her wife, Cherelle Griner, joined her to commemorate the win.

Brittney told NBC that the prize would “hold a special place amongst the other two” of her gold medals, earned at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Rio Games in 2016. “My country fought for me to get back,” she added. “And I was able to bring home gold for my country. There’s just no greater feeling.”

In February 2022, the pro basketball player spent nearly 10 months in Russian custody after being detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport for having vape cartridges filled with cannabis oil in her luggage. She was in the country to play in the Russian women’s professional basketball league, but ended up being sentenced to nine years in prison for the drug offense.

At the time, Griner admitted to having the cartridges, but claimed she had packed them by accident. Documents also showed the cannabis oil had been legally prescribed to her by her American doctor for pain management, per NBC News. Griner was eventually released in December 2022, after President Joe Biden negotiated a historic prisoner swap with Russian president Vladimir Putin.