American basketball star Brittney Griner, who spent nine months in a Russian jail, said she feels “fine and safe in France” on her return to Europe for the Olympic Games.
Griner, who was detained in a Moscow airport in February 2022 on drug charges, was released from prison in December that year in a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Now the 33-year-old Griner, who stands at an imposing 2.06m, will again compete in Europe and appeared relaxed as the US team took part in their first Olympics training session in Lille on Thursday.
“I’m fine. Everyone wonders what it’s like for me to come back here after everything I’ve been through, but I feel good and safe in France, so I’m just looking forward to playing.”
Griner, a prominent advocate for the LGBT+ community, had been playing with Yekaterinburg in the Russian championship at the time of her arrest.
She now features for Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA and insisted she would never be tempted back to play for a European club again.
“Of course I will travel here with my family at some point for a vacation, but basketball in Europe is over for me,” she said.
“I want to spend time with my family, my little boy, and I don’t want to miss anything. It was time to close this chapter anyway, it just didn’t end the way I wanted.”
In April this year, Griner told US broadcaster ABC that she had contemplated suicide during her time locked up in Russia.
The United States, seven-time reigning gold medallists, start their Olympic campaign against Japan in Lille on Sunday.