MILAN (AP) 鈥� At the , winning medals isn鈥檛 the only thing making hearts swell. From the ice rinks to the snowy hills, love is in the frozen air.
Some competitions already seem to have Cupid in attendance.
Dutch skater set an Olympic record in the 1000-meter race, then turned to find her fianc茅 Jake Paul in the stands; both visibly weeping, they made heart signs to one another with their hands. And 鈥檚 longtime boyfriend proposed to her near the finish line Thursday while surrounded by members of the U.S. Ski Team.
Valentine’s Day for athletes and attendees at the Games doesn’t usually mean grand gestures, but it’s no less special.
Competing on Valentine’s Day
Valentine鈥檚 Day is the finals for the women鈥檚 skeleton event. That means that Kim Meylemans of Belgium and Nicole Rocha Silveira of Brazil 鈥� an international couple who play for their separate national teams 鈥� will be too busy for a romantic dinner. They told The Associated Press they didn鈥檛 even bring gifts to exchange.
But since they are together all the time, 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a bit of a Valentine’s Day,” Meylemans said. 鈥淚t is part of our sport every day, our love.鈥�
The two feel fortunate their national Olympic committees arranged for them to bunk together at Cortina d’Ampezzo’s , since typically only teammates share housing. Half their room is decorated for Belgium, the other half Brazil.
Rocha Silveira was new to the sport in 2019 when Meylemans was already competing in World Cup races. They fell in love during the pandemic while sharing short-term rentals, since many hotels closed.
Fast forward to 2024, and they unknowingly bought identical engagement rings and planned proposals for the same boat trip in Brazil while on vacation. They married last August.
When they compete, they high-five and kiss before each run, wishing the other well.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter which one is on the podium. At the end of the day, it鈥檚 a victory for our team,” Meylemans said.
Rocha Silveira said it鈥檚 important their relationship appears during these Games in Italy, where and only married heterosexual couples are allowed to jointly adopt.
It鈥檚 a great place to 鈥渟how it even more,鈥� and 鈥渆ncourage and inspire people that they can be themselves,鈥� she said.
Volunteer valentines
Lori and Curtis Brown have been married for over 30 years and will be spend Valentine’s Day at the skating arena where they are volunteering for this year鈥檚 Winter Olympics.
About 18,000 volunteers are 鈥� a keeping the Olympics running around the clock, with duties such as giving directions, accompanying athletes to venues, crowd control and medical support.
Curtis, 60, said neither of them had realized they were scheduled to work. Now, they’re hoping they can coincide their breaks to have dinner together, perhaps surrounded by the rest of the volunteers, he joked.
鈥淭his is the most special Valentine鈥檚 Day of our lives,鈥� Curtis said. 鈥淏ecause we鈥檙e both here, we鈥檙e both on the same page, we鈥檙e both enjoying this adventure together.鈥�
While presents are neither鈥檚 love language, Lori, 61, told the AP she bought boxer briefs from the official Milan Cortina souvenir store. Curtis hadn鈥檛 bought anything for her.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not so much about gift giving, just going out and doing something together,鈥� said Lori, 61. She spoke while sitting beside Curtis, so perhaps she鈥檒l be surprised on Saturday.
Canadians facing off against Germany
Canadian hockey forward Laura Stacey and her wife, team captain , have a different kind of date: playing Germany’s team in the quarterfinals in Milan.
鈥淲e have a game, we have a big game, so spending it together. We鈥檙e pretty lucky,鈥� Stacey said. 鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 get to do what they love, chasing their dreams together, and we do. So I think on February 14th, I think it鈥檚 important for us to just appreciate that and not take it for granted.”
Aside from taking on Germany, they don’t have plans 鈥� but Stacey said they will surely at least give each other cards.
Other Olympian couples
Many other couples are at the Olympics, some teammates and others competing against each other.
鈥� The face of the U.S. women鈥檚 hockey team, Hilary Knight, is in Milan with her girlfriend Brittany Bowe, from the U.S. skating team. On Saturday, she posted a photo of a pink, heart-shaped carabiner on her Instagram.
鈥� American figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates were married in 2024 and on Wednesday.
鈥� U.S. bobsledding has a power couple with reigning women鈥檚 engaged to men鈥檚 push athlete Hunter Powell. She鈥檚 in the Olympics for the second time, while he’s making his debut.
鈥� U.S. Alpine skiing star 鈥� that sport鈥檚 all-time wins leader 鈥� is engaged to Norway鈥檚 , who returned to racing this season after dealing with major injuries.
鈥� last year after dating for almost 15 years.
鈥� Latvia鈥檚 luge team includes the husband-and-wife pair of Martins Bots and Elina Bota, both single sliders.
鈥擟urling may have the most well-known . Norway鈥檚 Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien have been together since 2008 and won bronze in Pyeongchang. Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant of Canada married in 2022 and were favorites this year. There are , too; they brought their baby and photos of him carrying a curling broom twice his size went viral.
He looked like a curling Cupid.
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McDermott reported from Cortina d鈥橝mpezzo, Italy. Associated Press writer John Wawrow in Milan contributed to this report.
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