Love is… a stroll by the Duomo at dusk, a ticket to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper and, if our greatest athletes have anything to do with it, shooting down a half-pipe in minus temperatures while wearing a padded snowsuit.
For Winter Olympians, this year’s Valentine’s Day comes slap bang in the middle of the competition. Yet, hearteningly, it hasn’t stopped many of them getting in the mood for romance.
Some athletes have been lucky enough to get their events out of the way early, freeing themselves up for the full candlelit works.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates,who married in Hawaii in 2024, secured silver for America in the figure skating ice dance event last Wednesday night. Chock and Bates have been skating together since 2011 and began dating six years later. For Chock, Milan is the perfect city to celebrate their relationship.“Italy is a very romantic place so I’m sure we’ll find some lovely Valentine’s Day opportunities,” she said earlier this month.
Nothing says romance more than fighting it out for a medal with the one you love, which is exactly what one Olympic couple spent yesterday doing. Kim Meylemans and Nicole Silveira, who each compete in the skeleton, got married six months ago, having met during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Belgian and the Brazilian train together and Meylemans became European Champion in 2016. Despite their romance, they are strictly focused on the event. “Neither is coming to Italy to enjoy the experience,” said their performance coach Fernando Oliva in a statement that would cheer a Valentine’s Grinch.
‘The reality of it [her boyfriend’s proposal] is so different than you imagined, and so much better’
‘The reality of it [her boyfriend’s proposal] is so different than you imagined, and so much better’
US skier Breezy Johnson
The US alpine skier Breezy Johnson spent yesterday celebrating her second day as a fiancée. Johnson, who won gold in the downhill ski, was thrilled when her boyfriend got down on one knee at the bottom of the slopes in Cortina after she crashed out of the Super-G event. Let’s hope he had padded trousers on. It was Johnson’s last Olympic event. She said she had always dreamed of being proposed to at the Olympics.
“The reality of it is so different than the way you imagined, and so much better,” she said afterwards.
Taylor Swift commented on the engagement post (the ring box was inscribed with a Swift lyric).
Johnson and her husband-to-be, Connor Watkins, are planning to head to Livigno to celebrate by… watching some more of the Winter Olympics.
Valentine’s Day can sometimes feel more like a looming threat than a celebration, particularly if you are single. United States luger Sophia Kirkby decided to take matters into her own hands, announcing herself on TikTok as the most “eligible bachelorette” in the Olympic Village. She received over 600 direct messages in response.
Newsletters
Choose the newsletters you want to receive
View more
For information about how The Observer protects your data, read our Privacy Policy
Fresh from finishing fifth in the double luge, Kirkby went on her first date on Friday with more scheduled for Valentine’s Day on Saturday.
Anticipating the interest in dating or hook-ups, Grindr, the gay dating app, brought in some extra features in the lead up to the Games. The app has made sure, fo example, that outside users cannot see who is using it within the Olympic Village. The set of privacy features plays an important role for athletes who may not be publicly out or who come from countries where it is illegal or dangerous to be LGBTQ+.
Others haven’t been able to contain their romantic enthusiasms to the period around Valentine’s Day. The Olympic Village is said to have provided 10,000 condoms at the start of the games, with the Spanish figure skater Olivia Smart putting out a TikTok video showing the number of packets available earlier in the week. Yet, according to one athlete, who prefers to remain anonymous, they ran out in just three days.
Photograph by Xavier Laine/Getty Images