Brittney Griner cries while the U.S. National Anthem plays at the Paris Olympics. The womens basketball player received a gold medal during her first Olympics since spending 9 months in a Russian prison.

She didn’t wipe them away until after the anthem ended, never trying to hide how she feels representing her country 612 days after the U.S. got the American star home after 10 months in a Russian prison.

“I mean, just having a chance to play for gold, represent my country, what my country did for me? Yeah, this is the highest on the pinnacle right here.”

This gold medal victory capped a long road back for Griner, who was sitting in a Russian penal colony two years ago not sure if she would ever get home again, let alone play basketball or compete in a third Olympics being held in Europe so close to Russia.

Now, Griner has her third gold medal playing for the U.S. and plans to place this one next to her newborn son, Bash.

“It was a long journey, a hard journey to get back into it,” the 33-year-old said. “I’m just happy that my body was able to hold up and be able to be here.”