Valentine’s Day is celebrated different at the Winter Olympics

MILAN (AP) — At the Milan Cortina Olympic Games, winning medals isn’t 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 Jutta Leerdam set an Olympic record in the 1000-meter race, then turned to find her fiancé Jake Paul in the stands; both visibly weeping, they made heart signs to one another with their hands. And downhill skiing champion Breezy Johnson ’s 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’s Day is the finals for the women’s skeleton event. That means that Kim Meylemans of Belgium and Nicole Rocha Silveira of Brazil — an international couple who play for their separate national teams — will be too busy for a romantic dinner. They told The Associated Press they didn’t even bring gifts to exchange.

But since they are together all the time, “It’s always a bit of a Valentine’s Day,” Meylemans said. “It is part of our sport every day, our love.”

The two feel fortunate their national Olympic committees arranged for them to bunk together at Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Olympic village, 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.

“It doesn’t matter which one is on the podium. At the end of the day, it’s a victory for our team,” Meylemans said.

Rocha Silveira said it’s important their relationship appears during these Games in Italy, where same-sex marriages aren’t recognized and only married heterosexual couples are allowed to jointly adopt.

It’s a great place to “show it even more,” and “encourage and inspire people that they can be themselves,” 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’s Winter Olympics.

About 18,000 volunteers are spread across the venues in northern Italy — a sea of navy blue uniforms 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.

“This is the most special Valentine’s Day of our lives,” Curtis said. “Because we’re both here, we’re both on the same page, we’re both enjoying this adventure together.”

While presents are neither’s love language, Lori, 61, told the AP she bought boxer briefs from the official Milan Cortina souvenir store. Curtis hadn’t bought anything for her.

“It’s not so much about gift giving, just going out and doing something together,” said Lori, 61. She spoke while sitting beside Curtis, so perhaps she’ll be surprised on Saturday.

Canadians facing off against Germany

Canadian hockey forward Laura Stacey and her wife, team captain Marie-Philip Poulin, have a different kind of date: playing Germany’s team in the quarterfinals in Milan.

“We have a game, we have a big game, so spending it together. We’re pretty lucky,” Stacey said. “Most people don’t get to do what they love, chasing their dreams together, and we do. So I think on February 14th, I think it’s important for us to just appreciate that and not take it for granted.”

Aside from taking on Germany, they don’t have plans — 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.

— The record-breaking face of the U.S. women’s hockey team, Hilary Knight, is in Milan with her girlfriend Brittany Bowe, a speedskater from the U.S. skating team. On Saturday, she posted a photo of a pink, heart-shaped carabiner on her Instagram.

— American figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates were married in 2024 and won a silver medal on Wednesday.

— U.S. bobsledding has a power couple with reigning women’s monobloc world champion Kaysha Love engaged to men’s push athlete Hunter Powell. She’s in the Olympics for the second time, while he’s making his debut.

— U.S. Alpine skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin — that sport’s all-time wins leader — is engaged to Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who returned to racing this season after dealing with major injuries.

— Italy’s luge team Dominik Fischnaller and the U.S.’s Emily Sweeney married last year after dating for almost 15 years.

— Latvia’s luge team includes the husband-and-wife pair of Martins Bots and Elina Bota, both single sliders.

—Curling may have the most well-known couples of any sport. Norway’s 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 Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller and Briar Schwalller-Huerlimann, 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’Ampezzo, Italy. Associated Press writer John Wawrow in Milan contributed to this report.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics