In the middle of the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin received some of the Russian Olympic medalists for a tribute in the Kremlin.
Among those who met the president was the Russian women's team that took gold in the long jump relay.
Veronika Stepanova was one of those who got to step to the top of the podium in China.
She recently criticized the Norwegian cross-country skier Emil Iversen for saying that no Russian athletes should be allowed to compete as long as Vladimir Putin is in power.
"The last thing we care about is the opinions of others, especially yours," Stepanova wrote on Instagram, among other things.
"Mighty, proud and successful"
Now she received flowers from the president.
- In my eyes, Russia has become powerful, proud and successful.
Not everyone likes it, but we want to win, as we won in the Olympics.
Thanks to the president for raising the country's flag high.
We will not lower it.
I promise, says Stepanova in state MatchTV according to NRK and then asked the president to sign her medal.
There was also the biathlon team that took silver in the ladies' relay - behind Sweden - and the figure skater Kamila Valieva, who ended up in windy weather during the Olympics due to a positive doping test before the games.
Russian athletes have been suspended from international competition on a broad front.
Earlier this winter, several well-known Russian athletes attended an event at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, which Putin organized to celebrate the anniversary of the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
As a result of his participation, swimmer Yevgeny Rylov has been suspended from all competitions for nine months.
A suspension he broke by participating in the Russian championships.