In a wide-ranging interview with RFE/RL's Moscow Bureau Chief Leonid Velekhov, veteran Russian figure skater and politician Irina Rodnina, who won three Olympic gold medals, defended the costs of the 2014 winter games before she traveled to Sochi to participate in the opening ceremony. She also addressed other issues surrounding the games, such as environmentalists' concerns about the staging of the Olympics, Russia's controversial "gay propaganda" legislation, and Sochi's subtropical climate.