Jimu news reporter Li Lili
What is valentine's day like for athletes at the Winter Olympics? They may not have time for a romantic dinner, but an Olympic medal may be a better gift.
Jimu News reporter combed and found that there are at least 5 couples in the field of this year's Winter Olympic Games, they have supported each other all the way, encouraged each other, and competed in the field together. Some also represent different countries and become "competitors".
Childhood playmates became couples before the Winter Olympics
Red Gerard and Hailey Langland are both American snowboarders, both of similar ages.
According to ESPN, they met at the age of 12 because of skiing and have been good friends ever since. At that time, Lang Lan's mother had already made a prediction from God: "He will become her last person, and he has been making her laugh." ”
On the eve of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the two officially became lovers.
Image credit: NBC
Gerrard won the gold medal in men's steeplechase at the Winter Olympics and is also the youngest champion in the event. Lang Lan ranked sixth in her project.
They are rare couples of the same level in the same sport, and the lovers train together, support each other, and accompany each other.
Four years later, they came to the Beijing Winter Olympics together. Gerald said: "Most people wouldn't have an experience like mine, and it was fantastic that my girlfriend and I competed together! Lang Lan responded: "Although family and coaches and friends are also around, Gerald is completely different, we are people who can really understand each other. ”
British speed skating couples share the same hardships and sell coffee together to pay for training
Cornelius Kersten and Ellia Smeding are a couple of British speed skaters.
As a teenager, they met at the British Championship. In 2017 they made love at the Winter Universiade.
Image source: Olympic official website
They are all excellent athletes in the speed skating 1000m and 1500m events. Smeding has represented the UK in many major competitions, including the 2017 Winter Universiade, the World Cup, the European Championships and the World Championships. She holds national records for 500 meters, 1000 meters and 1500 meters.
At the 2020/2021 World Cup, Kersten won the 1000m in Group B and finished 11th at the World Championships.
According to the British Daily Telegraph, speed skating has been largely ignored by the British Olympic Committee, which prefers to devote resources to projects that have the opportunity to win medals.
Since speed skating is unsubsordinated, it is not easy for the lovers to maintain their athletic skills. When not playing, they opened a café. During the day they are busy roasting, packing and transporting coffee beans, and at night they can only find time to train. The coffee business helped them pay for training and travel.
It is said that they created a coffee single-cup filter that was very popular with athletes at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Smeding and Kersten know that winning medals at the Winter Olympics is not too realistic for them, but they are already making British history, as evidenced by their presence in Beijing.
The Winter Olympics husband and wife file "Women Singing husbands and wives" won medals together in Beijing
It's a "singing-husband" story, where the Winter Olympics featured a real couple, Misato Komatsubara and Timothy Koleto (later renamed Zotsugu Koleto), who represented the Japanese team in double figure skating.
Originally an American, Coletto played for South Korea and Norway early in his career, winning the 2014 South Korean championship.
Miri Komatsubara is Japanese and has won five international medals with her teammates for Italy.
In 2016, the two teamed up to become ice partners. In real life, they also become real couples. Colletto believes that the relationship is an advantage for double figure skating. When "Love Story" is used as a dance, the competition will be more natural and smooth. "Ice nourishes us, and the results are getting better and better." Colletto said.
The story is more romantic, the two married the next year. In 2020, Coletto officially became a Japanese citizen and changed his name to "KomatsubaraZun" with his wife. The two have since been known as the "Komatsubara Group".
The two in the Figure Skating Team Competition at the Winter Olympics Image source: Xinhua News Agency
In the just-concluded all-day figure skating championships, the couple won the championship with the advantage of rhythmic dance.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Komatsubara group excitedly said at the Winter Olympics: "This is the most beautiful ice we have encountered in our competitive career." The two regretted not winning a medal in the doubles event, but still helped Japan win the bronze medal in the team event.
Exotic couples cheer each other up and support each other
At the Winter Olympics, there are also couples who represent different countries and belong to "competitors".
Emily Sweeney and Dominik Fischnaller are both bobsledders. They start dating as teenagers and have participated in two Winter Olympics together. Today, one of them represents the United States and the other represents Italy.
Image source: Social media
For both, it was a successful Winter Olympics.
Fischner finished third in men's single bobsleigh at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
After suffering a serious injury, Sweeney finally returned to the game. According to NPR, 4 years ago, Sweeney experienced a serious accident at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, injuring his neck and back. It was thought that the injury would end her career as a top athlete.
However, she once again appeared at the Winter Olympics. For her, participating in the Winter Olympics is not so much about winning medals as about proving herself. "The more important part of the story is that I'm still here." She said, "After all these things, I succeeded! ”
Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Aamodt KILDE are also exotic couples representing the United States and Norway, respectively.
According to the Olympic official website, the two only announced their relationship last year. But some media reported that the two had been in contact for some time.
Kielder just finished third in alpine skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics in the men's all-around.
Shivlin is a star athlete in the United States, she is the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics alpine skiing women's grand slalom champion, alpine skiing women's all-around runner-up.
Unfortunately, Schifflin made a mistake in this game, and he was out of the game early.
In the face of some US media sneers at Schifflin, Kidd's boyfriend burst into flames. He posted a photo of Shivlin sitting in the snow on social media with her head buried deep in her knees, saying: "We're just ordinary people, winning and losing is part of the game, all I see is a top athlete doing what a top athlete does and we should give her full support." ”
Social media screenshots
Finally, he wrote: "I love you, Mikaela! ”