“He was genuinely interested in whether we were having a quality experience at the games”, Blackmun said. As was related, Putin praised the performance of US athletes in Sochi.
“What I like about your team is that you have a strong participant in practically every discipline and it’s an even team racing for medals”, he said.
After meeting the US team, Vladimir Putin walked to the Canada house where he gave a short speech in Russian wishing them luck in the competitions. American and Canadian Olympic participants were happy to meet the Russian President. “I got to shake his hand” said many of them and expressed their joy.
Some commentators have noted that Putin’s visit was in contrast with the cold actual relations between Washington and Moscow. The US delegation to the Olympics included a first level state official for the first time since 2000.
