Cheryl Maas
A few memories stand out from this year´s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The gorgeous, orange-clad Dutch team dominating events like speed-skating, snowboarding and cross-country skiing is one; another is the display of defiance by the handful of openly LGBT athletes who protested Russia´s harsh anti-gay ″propaganda″ law. Dutch slopestyle snowboarder Cheryl Maas put herself right in the crosshairs. Maas, who reached the slopestyle semi-finals but didn´t medal, was the first athlete to give Russian president Vladimir Putin the proverbial middle finger on international TV: after a qualifying run, she thrust her gloves emblazoned with rainbows and unicorns at the cameras. The gesture was unmistakable, since Maas had criticized the choice of Russia as the Olympic host prior to the games. ″The International Olympic Committee should not select countries where certain groups are excluded, as is the case in Russia. By choosing Russia, the IOC is taking a step back in time,″ the two-time Olympian told a Dutch newspaper last year. Maas is married to and has a daughter with fellow Olympian snowboarder Stine Brun Kjeldaas. -KL
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