"I'd marry you with paper rings."
Updated Apr 22, 2024Our Favorite Olympic Couples and Their Epic Love Stories
Couples who medal together, stay together.
Every two years, spectators watch as the world's finest athletes compete in the Summer or Winter Olympics. While many dominate the headlines for broken records and athletic brilliance, we can't help but gush over those who compete alongside—or against—their romantic partners. And with the upcoming competition taking place in the City of Love, there's no better time to celebrate our favorite Olympic couples.
Amid the Summer 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, we're taking a deep dive into the most romantic Olympic couple love stories. Read on to learn about 14 of our favorite duos, some of whom are competing right now.
Tara Davis and Hunter Woodhall; Track & Field
Long before they became track & field's power couple, Tara Davis and Hunter Woodhall were teenagers with dreams of making it big. The athletes met at a high school track meet in 2017—and for Woodhall, it was love at first sight. "I was like, 'D—, that girl's fine. I'm gonna marry that girl,'" he recalled in a YouTube video about how they met.
Indeed, he did. After getting engaged immediately following the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, the pair tied the knot in Texas in October 2022. They now have their sights set on the Paris Games, where Davis hopes to dominate her signature event—the long jump—while Woodhall, a double amputee, will aim to add more medals to his collection after winning silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo.
Evan Bates and Madison Chock; Ice Dancing
Photo: Minas Panagiotakis | Getty Images
What began as a partnership on the ice has turned into a beautiful love story outside the rink. US ice dancers Evan Bates and Madison Chock met as teenagers when they were paired together in 2011, and hit it off thanks to their strong camaraderie. But over the years, Bates told The Knot in an exclusive interview, their feelings shifted from platonic to romantic. "Our friendship is the core of our relationship, because we were friends for so long before we ever started dating," he said. "We've known each other since we were teenagers, and then we started skating together for five years as just partners. Then, we sort of became off-ice partners."
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Bates proposed to Chock on June 11, 2022: a nod to their six years of dating and 11 years of skating together. After winning gold with Team USA at the 2022 Olympics and securing first place at the 2024 World Figure Skating Championship, the skaters exchanged vows in Hawaii in June 2024. "The vibe is tropical garden elegance," Chock told us ahead of the big day. "It'll be minimal and simplistic, with lots of flowers."
Sydney McLaughlin and Andre Levrone Jr.; Track & Field
We'd be remiss not to mention two-time Olympic Gold medalist and current world record holder Sydney McLaughlin in our list of athletic power couples, particularly because she graced the cover of The Knot Spring 2022 Issue. While her husband, Andre Levrone Jr., hasn't competed in the Olympics, he is a former NFL player. In our exclusive interview, McLaughlin opened up about how her experience in the Olympics helped her during her wedding planning journey.
"I feel like running has provided me the opportunity to mature in a lot of ways—it's definitely taught me life lessons on and off the track," she told us. "Being in the Olympics at 16 forces you to grow up pretty fast. Along the way, I've just seen myself continue to mature into the woman that I am. I've been blessed to have such an amazing support system around me and I really think that's the foundation that has helped me get to where I am right now."
Noah Lyles and Junelle Broomfield; Track & Field
After meeting online in 2017, United States' Noah Lyles and Jamaica's Junelle Broomfield remained friends for a few years before their relationship turned romantic. The sprinters will both appear in Paris, where Lyles is expected to dominate in the men's 100m, 200m and 4x100m races.
As for Broomfield, she credits her boyfriend for helping her rediscover her love of track after losing her mom to a battle with cancer. "For the past couple of years, it's been hard for me mentally because I've had a lot of losses in my family and I'm just recovering and running on the track with love again," the runner told Inside Lane. "I started therapy like two years ago…my boyfriend is big on therapy and it felt as if I needed it too…it honestly has helped a lot because I feel like I've been suffering from survivors' guilt and it was basically laying on my shoulders, so now I have to live my life and just enjoy every moment I have because life is short."
Gerek Meinhardt and Lee Kiefer; Fencing
Competing in the Olympics is just another date-night activity for married fencing stars Gerek Meinhardt and Lee Keifer. The athletes began dating in 2012 and were together for six years before Meinhardt popped the question. Their wedding took place in September 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky.
All the while, their professional careers soared, and the Paris Games will mark this Olympic couple's fourth consecutive appearance together. At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Kiefer made history as the first American foil fencer to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Meinhardt earned a bronze medal in Rio and Tokyo, and both hope to add more medals to their collection in 2024.
Alex De Minaur and Katie Boulter; Tennis
The Paris Olympics will be a major milestone for tennis players Alex De Minaur and Katie Boulter. De Minaur, an Australian athlete, missed his opportunity to compete at the Tokyo Games because he tested positive for COVID the night before his debut. Currently ranked sixth in the world by ATP, his Paris appearance comes highly anticipated in the tennis world.
He began dating Boulter, a British tennis player, in 2020, but they kept their relationship secret at first. "Remember that time when we were having breakfast at separate tables?" Boulter said in a video featured filmed at the Mutua Madrid Open. "Different times, like 10 minutes later," De Minaur added. "I think what was very important, as well, in the early stages is that we talked about tennis being our number one priority, and we would make all of this work, just finding that balance. I thought it was going to be quite tough." Now with their love story out in the open, we're expecting to see plenty of sweet couple moments at the Olympics this year.
Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Aamodt; Alpine Skiing
Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin is certainly one of the buzziest winter athletes for Team USA. Not only was she the youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine skiing history, she's a three-time Overall World Cup champion, a four-time world champion in slalom, and a six-time winner of the World Cup discipline title for the slalom. She's also currently engaged to Norwegian alpine skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. The couple announced the happy news in April 2024, three years after they confirmed their relationship.
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"We couldn't have asked for anything more."
Despite knowing each other for many years, they reconnected in 2020 after the tragic death of Shiffrin's father. "He never ever stopped being nice and friendly but also always very respectful, especially because at some points I was in a relationship and he had a couple relationships as well over that time frame," Shiffrin shared in an interview with NBC. "He got in touch with me again with a really nice and supportive message to my family once I started racing again after my dad's accident and this time we just never stopped chatting."
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird; Soccer, Basketball
You don't have to be a sports aficionado to recognize the names Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird. Rapinoe had a storied career with the US women's soccer team, while Bird was a mainstay on the WNBA Seattle Storm team since 2002. Perhaps the best part of their love story, though, is that it began at the 2016 Olympics. The future couple met during a press event in Rio de Janeiro, which prompted a quick connection. In addition to supporting each other in their respective athletic endeavors, the two are fierce activists and advocates. They got engaged in 2020, and later competed alongside each other at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Kim Meylemans and Nicole Silveira; Skeleton Sliding
Olympic couple Kim Meylemans and Nicole Silveira faced off in the skeleton race at the 2022 Beijing Olympics—for different countries, that is. Meylemans hails from Belgium while Silveira competes for Brazil. The two met at a skeleton race years ago, and kept their relationship status relatively private at first. In an interview with TODAY, Meylemans spoke about how their relationship thrives despite competing for opposing teams. "People always think of it as [us] competing against each other, but skeleton is a sport where you essentially race the clock," she explained. "It's not like we step into a ring and have to fight each other. So I think it's a bit non-realistic to think that we're actually enemies."
She added that they're able to provide each other support that others can't. "We're pretty much the only athletes for our countries. So we tend to reach out to people for added support because we don't have that huge team that other countries have. And so I think we're also able to help each other in that sense." Of course, their competitive nature isn't *completely* absent from their relationship. When they surprised each other by proposing on the same day in February 2024, it was a race to see who could do it first. "If you know us, you know how competitive we are, so here is the answer you've been waiting for: Nicole was faster and by that popped the question first 😜," they shared on Instagram.
Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto; Ice Dancing
Japan's Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto are yet another married Olympic couple. The skaters pursued a romantic relationship after they began ice dancing together in 2016. Just a few months later, they tied the knot in January 2017. The four-time Japanese national champions also found success at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, where they earned a bronze medal in the team event.
Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud; Equestrian
Longtime Olympic couple Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud are members of the Netherlands' equestrian team. While they rode together in the team event at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, they weren't always friendly competitors. Back in 2008—the first year they spoke publicly about their relationship—they challenged each other for one spot on the Olympic team, which ultimately went to Minderhoud. In an interview, Minderhoud explained the benefits of having a partner in the same sport. "Competitions are a way of life and it is so much fun if you are with someone who precisely understands that and knows what you are doing, dedicating all your time to horses," he said.
Hailey Langland and Red Gerard; Snowboarding
US snowboarders Hailey Langland and Red Gerard have a blossoming love story that's certainly on-brand for the digital age. "Red and I met in [Oregon] when we were 12," Langland told ESPN. "Our team manager gave him my phone number and he started texting me funny messages. We became best friends for years." Their friendship ultimately turned romantic, and they began dating just before their Olympic debuts in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Gerard made his mark on the games by winning a gold medal, making him the first Winter Olympics medalist born in the 2000s.
Blayre Turnbull and Ryan Sommer; Ice Hockey, Bobsledding
How's this for a romantic reunion? Despite both competing for Team Canada, Olympic couple Blayre Turnbull (women's ice hockey) and Ryan Sommer (bobsledding) spent the three months leading up to the 2022 Winter Olympics apart due to their rigorous training schedules. They finally crossed paths in the most epic fashion—at the opening ceremony, of all places. "Name a cooler place to be reunited with your fiancé after spending the last 3 months apart…. I'll wait," Turnbull wrote of the moment on Instagram. Added Sommer: "A couple of kids, chasing our dreams."
Turnbull won gold with her team later in the tournament, marking her second Olympic medal, while Sommer secured bronze hardware. Once the excitement of the Games died down, the pair threw themselves into planning their wedding. They finally got married on July 22, 2023, in Nova Scotia.
Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari; Archery
Some might think India's archery power couple Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari were struck by an arrow of love, but that's not how their relationship started. Per the Olympics' official website, the future married Olympians met at an archery academy in 2008, though they had minimal contact in the beginning. "He didn't know Hindi then, so he wouldn't talk to me," Kumari said. She went on to say that, over the years, they experienced "misunderstandings, communication gaps and two big egos."
Their feelings eventually turned romantic when they reconnected in 2017. They got engaged one year later, and in 2020 were married in a private ceremony. They became the first archery couple to represent India at the Olympics in Tokyo, where Das gave his wife props for his skill set. "She deserves most of the credit for my transformation," he reflected.
