U.S. Olympic wrestler Elena Pirozhkova picked up first lady Michelle Obama in London on Friday. The incident was captured and tweeted by teammate Clarissa Chun.
Elena Pirozhkova met Obama when she toured Team USA’s training facility. “Can I pick you up?” Pirozhkova asked, according to CNN’s account. Obama replied, “um, yes.”
Elena picked up the First lady twitter.com/ClarissaChun/s…
— Clarissa Chun (@ClarissaChun) July 27, 2012
From USA Today:
“Even before she made the rounds I thought I can’t just hug her like everybody else,” Pirozhkova, who stands 5-foot-5 and competes in the 138.75-pound class, said in a statement released by USA Wrestling.
“I hugged her, and then I asked her if I could pick her up. I think she was nervous. I went slow. I just picked her up. I wanted to ask her permission. There was security all around. And she gave it. I will only meet her once. I wanted to do something different.”
