Sport
Vladimir Putin's friendship with ski great Jean-Claude Killy
By Rob Hodgetts
Published 1213 GMT (2013 HKT) December 16, 2015
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A former KGB agent, it's probably fair to say that Russian president Vladimir Putin is a man that divides opinion ... DMITRY ASTAKHOV/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Human rights groups say civil liberties and democratic freedoms have suffered during Putin's rule. But French Olympic ski legend Jean-Claude Killy is a fan after getting to know Putin in the run-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics. DMITRY ASTAKHOV/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Killy won three gold medals at the 1968 Winter Olympics but has not skied since 1988. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) chief supervisor for Sochi would watch his friend Puti ski and then dish out tips over shots of vodka. AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Putin's skiing prowess matches his man-of-action image -- he also joined the Russian ice hockey team ahead of the Games in Sochi.
Putin has been snapped trying his hand at a host of sports -- often bare-chested. Fly fishing is just one of the Russian leader's pursuits. AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
That's when he's not horse riding while on holiday in southern Siberia . AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Or swimming, butterfly style ... ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images
Putin is a regular all-action hero - here he is pictured scuba diving. AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Here he is pictured piloting a motorized hang glider while flying with cranes that have taken to the machine as their leader. AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Putin and Killy met dozens of times ahead of the Sochi Games. Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Triple Olympic skiing gold medalist Killy was the IOC's chief supervisor for Sochi in 2014 and would visit Russia to check on the progress of the Games' planning ahead of the start. Getty Images
The Sochi Games featured a coastal hub in the city and a mountain hub in the hills around Krasnaya Polyana. Al Bello/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Austria's Matthias Mayer won the downhill gold medal at Sochi. Alain Grosclaude/Agence Zoom/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Killy won downhill, giant slalom and slalom gold at the Grenoble Games in 1968. Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
