Olympian Gus Kenworthy Finally Brings Dogs from Sochi Home

Plus, the freestyle skier hopes to bring awareness to the strays still living in Russia

It took a lot longer than he thought it would, but Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy was finally able to bring those puppies home from Sochi, Russia.

He and his friend Robin Macdonald, who stayed behind in Sochi following the Winter Olympics to complete the adoptions, brought the mom and two of her little ones to the Today show Friday.

“It’s just incredible,” Kenworthy, 22, told Matt Lauer and Tamron Hall, who held Jake in her arms while the athlete petted Mom. “It feels so nice to have them home.”

But the reunion proved bittersweet as not all of the puppies survived.

Still, Kenworthy, who intends to keep two of the puppies himself, was thrilled to rescue the ones he did.

“These dogs, they’ve traveled thousands of miles and it’s been many, many weeks of this whole process kind of coming to an end,” he said. “I just really can’t thank Robin and the Humane Society International enough for making it happen.

He’s also doing what he can to help other stray dogs in Russia.

“[We’re looking to] set up some shelters and stuff there, so in future World Cups and different events there will be a better system in place so this doesn’t happen again,” he said. “So if someone wants to take a dog back, they can take a dog back. It’s not going to be a horrible process.”