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American speed skater Brittany Bowe won’t leave the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics with a medal, but she will return home with a new ring.
“Team USA women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight proposed to Bowe at the 2026 Winter Games. The two first met while competing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics,” Knight proposed on the eve of the women’s hockey gold medal game between the United States and Canada.
Knight shared the moment on social media, captioning a video of the two athletes wearing matching Team USA clothing: “The Olympics brought us together. This one made us forever.”
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Hilary Knight poses for a photo during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in preparation for the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics at the Javits Center on October 29, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)
Bowe entered with two bronze medals, and Knight, a four-time Olympic medalist, will leave with a fifth – gold or silver – after Thursday’s rematch against Canada.
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Knight reflected on his connection with Bowe during the 2022 Beijing Games amid COVID-19 protocols.
“Having that human connection, even walking outside remotely, was really cool,” Knight told Olympics.com last week.
Brittany Bowe of the United States reacts after skating in the B final of the women’s team pursuit during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milan Speed Skating Stadium on February 17, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Katie Stratman/Imagn Images)
Bowe said she got to know another side of Knight beyond his superstar persona.
“Knowing her as a hockey player, she’s like a big, strong, powerful woman,” Bowe said. “But then when we got to know each other, she was sweet, genuine, kind, almost shy. That really piqued my interest.”
Brittany Bowe of the United States competes in the women’s 1,500 meter race during the ISU Speed Skating World Cup at the Calgary Olympic Oval on November 22, 2025, in Calgary, Alberta. (Leah Hennel-International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)
Romance was part of the story of this year’s Games, especially on Valentine’s Day. Last week, the boyfriend of American skier Breezy Johnson proposed at the finish of her super-G race in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Johnson won her first career Olympic gold medal in the women’s alpine and downhill skiing event.
