The president awarded each of the country's 129 medalists a brand new Audi during a ceremony that took place last week at the Kremlin in Moscow. What kind of Audi each athlete was given depended on what medal he or she returned with: Gold medalists were given an A8, silver medalists got an A7 and bronze medalists had to settle with an A6.
"A fine athlete in a crappy car is like a beautiful girl who cusses. The exterior doesn't match the interior, and this won't do," said Alexander Katushev, the executive director of the Russian Olympic Federation.
Many of the athletes echoed Katushev's comments.
"I think if they had been Russian cars nobody would have shown up," joked Yelena Isinbayeva, a pole vaulter who won a bronze medal.
Precisely how much the Federation paid for the cars was not disclosed but Katushev told The Moscow Times that they were purchased "at a significant discount."
With 24 gold medals, 26 silver medals and 32 bronze medals, Russia took fourth place overall at the 2012 London Olympic games.
"If you look at our result at the 2008 Olympics, we took third team place there but the number of medals we won in London is greater than in Beijing," said Putin at the ceremony. "So this is, for sure, an improvement."
