Olympic Power Couple: Speed Skater Brittany Bowe and Hockey Captain Hilary Knight Get Engaged in Milan Cortina
Two of Team USA’s biggest winter sports stars announced their engagement mid-competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, marking the second proposal among American athletes at this year’s Games.
KEY FACTS:
- Speed skater Brittany Bowe and U.S. women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight announced their engagement on Tuesday, Feb. 17, through a joint Instagram post.
- The couple first met at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Knight’s caption read: “Olympics brought us together. This one made us forever.”
- This is the second Team USA engagement at the 2026 Games — downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson was proposed to last week by boyfriend Connor Watkins after the women’s super-G, three days after winning gold.
- Both athletes are still actively competing: Knight faces Canada in Thursday’s gold medal hockey game, and Bowe skates her final Olympic race, the 1500m, on Friday.
How They Got Here
Bowe told Olympics.com earlier this month that “We really got to know each other in Beijing and have really been inseparable ever since.” She said she knew “very quickly” that Knight would be in her life for a long time.
Knight carries the nickname “Captain America.” For Bowe, the turning point was discovering who Knight was off the ice.
“Knowing her as a hockey player, it’s like this big, strong, powerful female,” Bowe explained. “But then, when we got to know each other, she was soft, genuine, kind, almost shy. That really sparked my interest.”
Knight’s Historic Run
Knight, 36, is competing in her fifth Winter Olympics, a career stretching from Vancouver 2010 to Milan Cortina 2026. She captains the U.S. women’s hockey team and is chasing a record-tying fifth Olympic hockey medal.
She tied the U.S. Olympic record for most goals and points in women’s hockey earlier in Milan Cortina. Knight is now poised to become the first U.S. ice hockey player to win five Olympic medals.
Her shot at that milestone comes Thursday in the gold medal game against rival Canada.
Bowe’s Final Race
Bowe, 37, is making her fourth Olympic appearance. She’s a two-time bronze medalist, having won bronze at each of the last two Olympics, and she nearly added another in the women’s 1000m at these Games.
Her last Olympic event will be the 1500m on Friday.
What to Watch This Week
The next few days carry real stakes for both athletes. Knight and the U.S. women’s hockey team face Canada in Thursday’s gold medal game, where Knight has a shot at her second gold medal and a record-tying fifth Olympic hockey medal. Bowe takes to the ice for her final race on Friday.
BOTTOM LINE: With Knight playing for gold Thursday and Bowe skating her final Olympic race Friday, this is the storyline threading through the rest of the week in Milan Cortina.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
