Vladimir Putin gets vaccinated, scores 9 goals in hockey game

Vladimir Putin, the 68-year-old world-class athlete who dabbles in Russian presidential politics, made a triumphant return to the rink Monday to score multiple hat-tricks in an all-star hockey showcase.

As part of a vaccination drive that Putin is leading, the judo black belt and expert horseman, played in his first hockey game since the pandemic began after he was vaccinated about a month ago.

Competing against Russian hockey stars, “businessmen” and other politicians, Putin scored between eight and nine goals (accounts vary and official score records are unavailable). However, seeing as Putin scored 10 goals in an all-star showcase in 2019, it’s impossible to determine whether he’s lost a step or the vaccine has sapped him of some of his hockey wizardry.

The game took place in Sochi in the arena built for the 2014 Winter Olympics, with Putin’s side prevailing 13-9.

Russia has so-far vaccinated about 15% of its population with its own Sputnik V. The country has reported 112,063 deaths and 4,840,948 total infections, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.