Standing on the medal stand with her third gold medal draped around her neck, Brittney Griner looked at the U.S. flag with tears streaming down her cheeks during the national anthem.

She didn’t wipe them away until after the anthem ended, never trying to hide how she feels representing her country 612 days after the U.S. got the American star home after 10 months in a Russian prison.

Not with all that this moment meant.

Griner didn’t think she’d have this chance again.

“This one meant a lot to me,” Griner said after the U.S. held off France 67-66 to win an unprecedented eighth straight gold medal in women’s basketball Sunday. “I mean, just having a chance to play for gold, represent my country, what my country did for me? Yeah, this is the highest on the pinnacle right here.”

This gold medal victory capped a long road back for Griner, who was sitting in a Russian penal colony two years ago not sure if she would ever get home again, let alone play basketball or compete in a third Olympics being held in Europe so close to Russia.

She had been sentenced to nine years behind bars for drug possession and smuggling in Russia, spending 10 months in jail before she was part of a high-profile prisoner exchange in December 2022. Griner, a Phoenix Mercury center who had been playing basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason when she was detained, said she would never play internationally again except with USA Basketball.

Now, Griner has her third gold medal playing for the U.S. and plans to place this one next to her newborn son, Bash.

“It was a long journey, a hard journey to get back into it,” the 33-year-old said. “I’m just happy that my body was able to hold up and be able to be here.”

Griner has learned to appreciate the little things at the Olympics more than she did the first two times she played in them, in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and in 2021 in Tokyo. In 2021, Griner led the U.S. with 30 points, the most points ever scored by a U.S. player in a gold-medal game.

That was three years ago, but Griner’s ordeal in Russia left her appreciating the mundane details of each day.

“Waking up, going to practice, even when you don’t want to practice, having the opportunity to do that, because we overlook it,” she said. “That’s the opportunity that we get to do and I just cherish every second I can now.”

During these Games, the U.S. pulled off another high-profile prisoner exchange hours before Griner took the court during pool play. Knowing that more Americans were coming home had her “head over heels” happy at their return.

Teammate Diana Taurasi, who helped lobby for Griner’s return during her detention, stood two teammates away from Griner during the medal ceremony and anthem. Taurasi said she could sense Griner’s emotions and called it almost “mind-boggling” that Griner got back to this point.

“She’s a person that is grateful for all the support that she got through all this,” Taurasi said. “And it wasn’t easy. And it’s still not easy for her. She still carries a big burden … to make sure everyone gets out. She carries that burden really heavy on her back.”

During the game itself, Griner scored four quick points and finished with two rebounds in the win.

She celebrated the victory on the basketball court with lots of hugs, including from Lisa Leslie and others cheering on the Americans at Bercy Arena, essentially a road game for the U.S. with French President Emmanuel Macron in the stands.

“The gold (medal game) is just the icing on the cake, being in the Olympics … as well,” Griner said.

Then came time to celebrate again as the Americans huddled at midcourt for photos. Griner took out a phone for the team selfie with her right hand, using her left hand to hold up her latest gold medal.

This definitely was a moment to be remembered.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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