Vladimir and Alina Sitting in a Tree

Ahh, our first Olympic-related love story. We don’t blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for shopping in the young girls section, but Alina Kabaeva what are you thinking?

According to reports (a.k.a. rumors), which the Russian President pooh-poohed, the two are planning to tie the knot sometime in June after the lovestruck Vlad (he looks smitten in this photo, di ba?) steps down from office.

It’s not clear whether the President divorced his wife (some reports say he did, others say he did not) and the President criticized those who are speculating about his love life. We guess we are included in his target, although we deny having a snotty nose, when he said this:

“I have always had a negative opinion of those who, with their snotty noses and their erotic fantasies, meddle in other people’s lives.”

Aww, come on Vlad. For a former KGB official who spied on peoples lives, you shouldn’t be too sensitive about us “meddlers”; at least we are not putting recording devices in your bedroom. And what’s that bit about erotic fantasies? We think all people are guilty of having some but we don’t think they fantasize about you. [In fairness to Vlad, maybe that erotic fantasies bit is just a bad translation from Russian.]

By the way, why are we blogging about this? Ahh, we almost forgot to mention that Alina Kabaeva won a gold medal (for the individual all around rhythmic gymnastics) during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Here’s the Russian President congratulating her for her victory.

And here’s Alina performing one of her routines. We have to agree with the news reports which describe her as “stretchy”.

And here’s Alina kind of winking at us. No wonder, Vlad was smitten.
Edited to add: Oops, we’re wrong to say that this is our first Olympic-related love story. The distinction actually goes to our post on Singapore’s Li Jiawei and Ronald Susilo, the ex-lover’s who’s recent spat may cost Singapore an Olympic medal in Beijing.

Read more at the following sites:
New York Post (from which the above photos were sourced)
Telegraph.co.uk
Metro.co.uk