These Olympians Are Dating While Competing Together and Against Each Other in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games
Love is in the air now, even on the other side of the globe where several athletes celebrated Valentine’s Day while competing in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. One of the couples who have been in the spotlight during these Games is USA skier Mikaela Shiffrin and her boyfriend fellow skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway. But they’re not the only athletes who are in the Olympic village with their partners.
Here’s a look at a few other Olympians who are competing with and against their significant others.
Ashley Caldwell and Justin Schoenefeld
Ashley Caldwell and Justin Schoenefeld are USA freestyle skiers who gave each other the gift of a gold medal ahead of Valentine’s Day when they, along with their friend Chris Lillis, won the mixed team aerials event on Feb. 10.
“It’s seriously the greatest feeling. I just won the biggest competition in the world, especially with two of my best friends,” Schoenefeld exclaimed via Olympics.com. “I’m dating my teammate, Ashley Caldwell, and we’ve been together for a couple of years now. And Chris Lillis, we lived together growing up when I was on the development team and we’ve just all trained together and been around each other for so many years now. We’ve just become such good friends now.”
Travis Ganong and Marie-Michele Gagnon
Other skiers Travis Ganong of Switzerland and Marie-Michele Gagnon of Canada are a pair who have been in a relationship since 2008. They met through a fellow skier and mutual friend Louis-Pierre Hélie.
In 2014, Ganong and Gagnon moved into a home together in Lake Tahoe, California. Then, in September 2021, Gagnon shared on Instagram that Ganong proposed to her at the Matterhorn.
Michelle Gisin and Luca De Aliprandini
Another Alpine ski couple Michelle Gisin of Switzerland and Luca De Aliprandini of Italy have been dating since 2014 and now live together. Having the same occupation “makes things much easier with everything,” Gisin said (per AP).
The outlet noted: “They understand each other’s time constraints and demands, whether it has to do with training or competition or even doping tests and media obligations. When De Aliprandini won a silver in the giant slalom at the 2021 world championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Gisin ran into an area reserved for reporters and started taking pictures of him with her phone.”
On Feb. 11, Gisin won a bronze medal in the Super-G.
Jaelin Kauf and Brad Wilson
American skier and snowboarder Brad Wilson and fellow American skier Jaelin Kauf have been romantically linked since fall 2020.
Wilson made headlines at the Winter Games when he was seen cheering loudly and proudly for his girlfriend when she won the silver medal in the women’s moguls.
Red Gerard and Hailey Langland
Red Gerard and Hailey Langland are both members of the USA snowboarding team and have been friends for years. They began dating before the 2018 Winter Games, where Gerard won gold in men’s slopestyle.
“We’re so lucky in those moments to be able to talk to someone who really understands,” Langland said of his relationship with Langland during an interview with ESPN.
Madison Hubbell and Adrian Diaz
Ice dancers Madison Hubbell of the USA and her fiancé Adrian Diaz of Spain had a bit of an awkward Valentine’s Day weekend together in Beijing.
Instead of doing something romantic, the pair spent it competing against each other with their respective ice dancing partners in the free dance. Diaz and Olivia Smart came in 9th place while Hubbell and skating partner Zachary Donohue placed third; earning the Bronze medal.
Hubbell actually dated Donahue prior to her relationship with Diaz.
