Russian strongman Vladimir Putin took a hard fall on the ice while waving to the fans at a hockey game in Sochi.
Putin was skating around a Sochi hockey rink and waving to the public, but he wasn’t looking where he was going as he neared a red carpet that had been placed on the ice for a speaker to stand on later.
As soon as Putin hit the carpet with his skates, he fell headlong to the floor, face first.
Russian President Vladimir Putin took a fall as he waved to the crowd during an ice-hockey game in Sochi. He scored eight goals during the exhibition match in what has become a yearly tradition. https://t.co/x0mN62qQoY pic.twitter.com/l6XCRrwsIB
— ABC News (@ABC) May 10, 2019
Undaunted, the Russian leader jumped back up and continued his waving tour of the ice.
Putin scored at least eight goals in the exhibition game, but some felt the high score was a bit suspect.
“Of course, it’s easy to score on opponents who are in constant fear of being sent to the gulags … but hey, PUTIN!” the wags at TMZ Sports joked.
Speaking of “It’s Putin,” imagine the heart-thumping fear the skater next to him felt when he saw what was about to happen but was helpless to prevent!
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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