LONDON (AFP) ― Russian President Vladimir Putin did his hardman image no harm Thursday as he watched Russia claim an Olympic gold medal at the judo and then bear-hugged the new champion.

Putin, a black belt, is no stranger to the Russian judo team, the 59-year-old having regularly grappled with the squad as they trained for the London 2012 Games.

And how he relished Russia’s triumph ― jacket off, jumping to his feet to cheer Tagir Khaibulaev’s victory with both arms in the air.

British Prime Minister David Cameron joined Putin at the ExCeL exhibition center in east London but did not stick around to see Khaibulaev contest the under-100 kilograms final.

Unlike his Russian guest, Cameron does not have much of a hardman image ― one newspaper cartoonist portrays him as a pink jellyfish.

Enthusiastic Russian fan Alex Senin, 22, a student from Moscow, was delighted to see his president roaring on the judokas.

“It’s great when our president is a sportsman and supporting the Russian team,” he told AFP.

“It’s cool. The president should be healthy and strong. He should be the guy who holds the country in his arms. He should have strong shoulders,” he said.

Putin smiled and waved as he and Cameron walked in to the ExCeL center, with spectators standing to catch a glimpse of the pair.

With only a plate of expensive-looking biscuits separating them, Putin sat on Cameron’s right; but the British premier had a judo expert on his left ― perhaps as a precaution ― in the shape of Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Hague used to be grappling partners with London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe.

An aide crouched between Cameron and Putin, translating the president’s lengthy explanations about the action and Cameron’s quips in return that got Putin laughing and as the action hotted up, Putin stripped off his jacket.

After watching Britain’s Gemma Gibbons lose to U.S. judoka Kayla Harrison in the women’s under-78kg final, Cameron went to congratulate the Londoner on her silver medal but then disappeared and Hague shuffled up a seat to join Putin.

When Khaibulaev floored his Mongolian opponent Tuvshinbayar Naidan to win gold, Putin leaped out of his seat in jubilation.

He swifly put his jacket back on and left his seat to greet the champion, hugging Russian supporters along the way.

Vitalii Makarov, a Russian judo team coach, said Putin’s reaction showed his human side.

“This is a happy moment for everyone. Putin is a human. He is not a robot.

He has emotions. He likes and loves judo very, very much,” he told AFP.

“When he was an athlete, he also dreamed about the Olympic Games now he saw how our fighters can win a gold medal for the Russian judo team.

”Every time we have a meeting, we have training with him because he really, absolutely loves judo.

“He is a good president but also he is a good judoka.”