Putin gave Russia's Olympic gold medalists new BMWs. Then one of them tried to sell hers online.

Vladimir Putin recently awarded all 19 of Russia's Olympic gold medalists BMW X6 luxury cars. Within 24 hours, however, at least one of the vehicles was spotted on an automotive classified website, on sale for 4.67 million rubles (about $72,000).

The seller is listed merely as “Katerina,” and the vehicle's description states openly that it was a gift from President Putin: "The car was awarded by President Putin personally! For achievements at the Olympic Games in Rio ... to be exact, for an Olympic gold!!! The car is new! […] The car is insured!"

An investigation by R-Sport journalist Vasily Konov revealed that Katerina is actually one of Russia's gold medalists in synchronized swimming. Which swimmer exactly is selling her BMW remains unclear.

The advertisement was soon removed from the website, and a note appeared saying that the car had either sold or the seller had changed her mind. Konov says bids on the vehicle greatly exceeded Katerina's initial asking price.

On August 25, Putin presented Russia's Olympic champions with new cars. Gold medalists received BMW X6s, silver medalists got BMW X4s, and bronze medalists were awarded BMW X3s.

Russia's champions in synchronized swimming at the Rio Games included Natalia Ishchenko, Svetlana Romashina, Aleksandra Paskevich, Svetlana Kolesnichenko, Maria Shurochkina, Vlada Chigiryeva, Alla Shishkina, Yelena Topilina, and Yelena Prokofieva.

According to Yevgeny Kurginyan, a Russian short track athlete, the awarding of automobiles to Russian champions is a common practice. Kurginyan also says athletes often sell these cars.