11 February,2014 10:04 AM IST | | Agencies
There were mixed fortunes for Russian speed skater Olga Graf as she landed a surprise bronze medal — but then nearly stripped off for fans in Sochi
On thin ice: Russian speedskater Olga Graf unzips her racing suit after clinching a bronze. After realising she has nothing on underneath, she quickly zips up. Pics/AFP
Sochi: Russian speed skater Olga Graf showed off more than she wanted after a bronze medal-winning performance in the Olympic Games 3,000 metres, ripping down the zip of her skin suit in delight.
Graf, who won Russia's first medal of the Sochi Games, raised her arms aloft in triumph after crossing the finishing line and then pulled her zip down to her waist.
On thin ice: Russian speedskater Olga Graf unzips her racing suit after clinching a bronze. After realising she has nothing on underneath, she quickly zips up. Pics/AFP
The tight skin suit burst open to reveal she had no underwear.
Graf put her hand to her mouth in embarrassment and rapidly zipped back up, but keeping her smile.
"Yes it is true. There was nothing underneath,'' she was quoted as saying.
"We have great suits, they make the body feel light and as a result I wear nothing under them. When I finished the race I forgot about this."
She added, "And I thought, what a nightmare! And soon it will be all over YouTube. But in fact, nothing bad came of it.
In the end, I did not show that much,'' she mused.
She even got a note of praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic, who took silver and Ireen Wust of the Netherlands who won gold.
