Decorated Russian Olympian Irina Rodnina who competed for the country in figure skating earning herself three gold medals during the 72, 76 and 80 Winter Olympics. She also appeared during the evenings Opening Ceremonies with the honor of lighting the Olympic flame officially kicking off the games.
But aside from being a decorated Olympian and Russian hero she also may be a racist.
Back in September Rodnina tweeted out the picture you see below depicting President Obama and the First Lady with a banana crudely photoshopped overlapping their faces.
The tweet was removed but Rodnina didn’t feel the need to apologize. The Guardian reports:
Rodnina insisted that there was nothing wrong with the photograph, and said she had been sent it by friends in America. “Freedom of speech is freedom of speech, and you should answer for your own hang-ups,” she wrote.
[…]
Rodnina, who lived in the US for many years, deleted the photograph but has not apologised and remains unfazed by accusations of racism. Instead, she suggested that the wave of criticism she prompted from liberal journalists and other Russians was a conspiracy.
She seems to be fitting right in though with the general prejudices of the Russian government.
