Love runs as fast as a Super-G descent. Sometimes he falls, sometimes he surprises, sometimes he waits at the finish line with a ring in his hand. He knows it well Breezy Johnsonwhich he received a marriage proposal from boyfriend Connor Watkins right on the Cortina track, after competing in the SuperG.
The Winter Olympics of Milan Cortina 2026 they warmed up as they approached Saint Valentine. The Olympic village prepares for a romantic evening under the spotlight of the world. The invitation to have a cappuccino can go viralas in the case of Sophia Kirkbyand a proposal like Breezy’s can go around the world in a few minutes. The Games – again this year – confirm themselves as the perfect stage for declarations and love at first sight. Here then the five-circle love of yesterday, today and tomorrow (fingers crossed for Sophia Kirkby).
The surprise at the finish line: Breezy Johnson and the proposal after the fall
For Breezy Johnson the last race in Cortina was a shockliterally. A fall in the Super-G he ended his Olympic adventure with more bitterness than glory. But just beyond the finish line, between cameras and spectators, there was something much bigger than a medal waiting for her. Her boyfriend Connor Watkins got down on one knee in the snow and asked her to marry her. A romantic proposal, which took place before the eyes of athletes and spectators, which transformed sporting disappointment into an unforgettable moment. In a few seconds, the image of the fall was replaced by that of an emotional embrace.
Sophia Kirkby, the most coveted single of the Games
If love comes to some by chance, without looking for it, for others the search can be an exciting adventure. This is the case of Sophia Kirkby, almost twenty-four year old American luge racerwomen’s doubles specialist, who decided to experience Milan Cortina 2026 with lightness and irony. Single declared at her first Olympics, she launched a social appeal: «I will finish my races on February 12th and am looking for a Valentine’s date in Cortina. Not just a cappuccino with an athlete, but a coffee with one of you fans». The result? Over 600 messages in a few days and two appointments already scheduled. With three world medals and sixteen World Cup podiums, Kirkby came to the Games with a double goal: to do well on the track and, who knows, maybe find love. A flirting operation reminiscent of the one attempted by Lindsey Vonn at the Games PyeongChang 2018when he asked via social media who was free for Valentine’s Day. Even then the suitors came forward in droves.
Love in the Olympic village: Federer and Mirka style encounters
This is nothing new the Olympic village is fertile ground for meetings. Young athletes from all over the world, adrenaline, extreme emotions, weeks lived in a bubble out of time: a mix that encourages intense connections. At the Games Sydney 2000 a very young man Roger Federerjust eighteen years old, met the Swiss tennis player Mirka Federer (At that time Vavrinec). Two weeks together in the Olympic village, among athletes and wrestlers who acted as unlikely sentimental advisors. It was one of them who encouraged Federer to make the first move. From that first kiss, one of the most solid and iconic couples in world tennis was born.
Meanwhile, in Milan Cortina, in just three days, free supplies of condoms (10,000 thousand) – always provided in the Olympic villages – they are finished. It must be said, however, that this time the numbers were decidedly smaller than in the past. If a Paris 2024 around 300 thousand condoms had been distributed – more or less two per day per athlete – at the Italian Winter Games the supply was much smaller.
Paris 2024, city of love: 7 marriage proposals during the Olympics
Paris, city of love. It is not surprising that right there, where the “Hymn to Love” served as the soundtrack to the preamble to the Games, the romantic atmosphere also infected the athletes. On the eve of the Opening Ceremony of Paris 2024 was the Argentine handball player Pablo Simonet to open the dance: kneeling in front of his partner Pilar Campoy, hockey player from the same delegation, asked her to marry her. A gesture that officially started a small five-circle romantic “epidemic”. Six more followed during the Games, confirming that the Parisian air is as good for the heart as it is for the competitive spirit.
Chinese diver Qin Kai proposes to his partner He Zi, also a diver, after the silver at the Rio 2016 Games. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Rio 2016, Marjorie Enya’s megaphone and Qin Kai’s poolside ring
Among the most iconic proposals of the Olympics Rio 2016 remains that of Marjorie Enya at the Brazilian rugby player Isadora Cerullo. After the last match of the women’s tournament, Enya took the megaphone and took to the field to ask her partner to marry her. A powerful, public scene, full of meaning, which immediately became a symbol of inclusion and pride. In memory too the proposal of the Chinese diver Qin Kai, kneeling in front of his partner He Zi. She had just won silver in the three-metre springboard when he proposed to her in front of cameras from all over the world.
Marjorie Enya’s proposal to rugby player Isadora Cerullo at the Rio 2016 Olympics. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Tokyo 1964: the wedding in the Olympic Village
Not just proposals. It is also in the history of the Games a real wedding celebrated under the Olympic flag. It happened to Tokyo 1964when the Bulgarian gymnasts Nikola Prodanov And Diana Yorgova they decided to say yes during the Olympics. They had known each other for years, growing up together on the elite Bulgarian sports circuit. Friends for over four years before friendship became love, they had already set the wedding date: May 26, 1965, his birthday. But the Bulgarian ambassador to Japan had a different idea: why wait? He invited them to the official residence and proposed they get married at the International Club of the Yoyogi Olympic Village. They didn’t even manage to notify the families: parents and relatives found out everything from the radio and newspapers. The ceremony took place in front of the Olympic flag and a large poster of the flame, amidst Shinto melodies, exchange of rings, shared sake and a five-tiered cake decorated with their names next to the five circles.
