Olympics-Basketball-Griner welcomes release of Americans in prisoner swap

By Angelica Medina

LILLE, France (Reuters) - U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was released from detention in Russia in a prisoner swap in 2022, has welcomed the return of Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan in a similar deal on Thursday.

Journalist Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Whelan were released by Russia as part of the biggest East-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War.

"It's a great day, great day. I'm head over heels happy for the families right now. Every day that the Americans come home, that's a victory," Griner told reporters after playing in Team USA's win against Belgium at the Olympics in Lille on Thursday.

"I found out through some people and, yeah, it was definitely emotional. I'm sure it will be emotional even more a little bit later on. Yeah, I'm just happy, like this is a big win. A huge win."

Griner, who had played professionally in Russia, was detained in a Moscow airport with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.

The player had a prescription in the United States for medical marijuana and pleaded guilty to charges of possessing and smuggling illegal drugs but insisted she had made an "honest mistake".

After 10 months in detention, she was released from one of Russia's most notorious penal colonies in exchange for the arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner said her experience of returning home after her release gave her confidence that Gershkovich and Whelan would be well looked after on their return to the United States.

"They have an amazing group of people that are going to help them out in any way they need, them and their families," she added.

"I'm glad that I was able to go through that program and get reacclimated back into every day life."

(Reporting by Angelica Medina; Editing by Alison Williams)