Brittany Schussler slammed for selfie with Putin

SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Canadian long-track speed skater Brittany Schussler is in a pile of trouble after finishing 26th -- right after posting a selfie with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin has faced a barrage of bad press over Russia's anti-LGBT laws and its poor preparation for the Olympics despite spending record sums.

But the Russian strongman received an apparently warm welcome from Canadian athletes and officials when he toured their facilities in Sochi on Friday. Most of the anger was directed at Schussler, who took a photo with Putin and posted it to her Twitter account.

"I should have asked him to be my valentine!" she wrote, in the tweet, which has since been deleted.

Many who responded to her tweet said they found the photo to be in poor taste and inappropriate.

Schussler attempted to defend her actions, calling the picture and tweet a joke, and said she "in no way want to be misconstrued as supporting his values."