According to three-time Paralympic athletics champion Andrei Vdovin, they were told that gifts were not given because they were an "unofficial delegation," as reported by Metaratings.ru. Vdovin stated that initially, the Russian athletes were upset by such treatment, but "then we thought: they didn't give us phones – and that's okay, we won medals instead." He emphasized that the situation with the gifts was the only negative aspect of the Russians' experience at the Paralympic Games in Paris.