<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What might test an athlete\u2019s nerves more than competing on the world\u2019s biggest stage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you guessed both being ready to prove one\u2019s own physical and mental fortitude and cheering for your significant other\u2019s quest for Olympic gold, then you\u2019d be correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2024 Olympics kick off July 26 in Paris and a number of athletes are arriving in groups of two (plus coaches, trainers, family, etc.), the Games never without stars of their sport who\u2019ve found love in a competitive place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf one of us had a really good practice, we might sit all afternoon and just talk about how great it was,\u201d three-time Paralympic medalist Hunter Woodhall told E! News of life with long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall. \u201cOne, just to hype each other up and build that confidence and excitement and then, two, to cue some of those things that we could continue to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your biggest fan and someone who understands your needs as an athlete? Sounds like a match made in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get to know all couples\u2014including sprinters Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield and married fencers Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt\u2014headed to Paris to compete in the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hunter Woodhall was born without fibulae, a condition called fibular hemimelia, and was 11 months old when he underwent a double amputation\u2014but the physical challenge did not slow him down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Georgia native met Tara Davis-Woodhall at a high school track meet in Idaho 2017. And, as he recalled in a YouTube video, \u201cI was like, \u2018Damn, that girl\u2019s fine. I\u2019m gonna marry that girl.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They weren\u2019t together from that moment on, Tara being from California, but chemistry and following each other\u2019s rising careers on social media did the trick. The pair got engaged after the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 and wed in October 2022 at a Texas vineyard. But while they both competed in Tokyo, they couldn\u2019t cheer each other on in person due to COVID-19 restrictions. So you can imagine how excited they are for Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is what we\u2019ve been working on. And this is what we\u2019ve been waiting for,\u201d Tara told E! News in May. \u201cAnd it\u2019s going to be a special moment for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After less-than-golden finishes in Tokyo, Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield are sprinting for gold in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, the track and field stars are living their best lives on TikTok, Noah making a deal with his girlfriend of almost two years in a recent video: \u201cWe go to the Olympics, I win every race, you win every race, we come back as the most winningest couple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She added, \u201cI see that baby\u2026 I\u2019m picking up what you\u2019re putting there and I won\u2019t drop it. I got the vision\u2026 I\u2019m ready to make it happen. We are going to be the most winningest couple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt (USA)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re not sure if arguments are settled with swords at home, but Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt have had each other\u2019s back for more than a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe pushes me in ways to help me out of my comfort zone, her intensity inspires me,\u201d Gerek, who met Lee in 2012 and married her in September 2019, told TeamUSA.com. \u201cAnd I try to help her find the balance of not overdoing things. It\u2019s about reaching your potential, and I think we bring a lot to each other in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When his wife qualified for Paris, Gerek wrote on Instagram, \u201cWords can\u2019t describe how bad she wanted this, how hard she worked, or how proud of her I am,\u201d while Lee wrote when he punched his ticket, \u201cSo proud!! My man fenced beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being champion athletes, they\u2019re are also future doctors. They pressed pause on medical school after their second year at University of Kentucky to focus on training for Tokyo, but plan to resume their studies in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alise Willoughby and Sam Willoughby (USA, Australia)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Adelaide native Sam Willoughby, 32, was Alise Post\u2019s fan from afar before he managed to meet her through MySpace. \u201cEventually,\u201d he quipped to USA Today Sports in 2020, \u201cI busted my way into her top friends list.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alise invited Sam to visit her in California and the rising BMX racing stars realized they wanted to ride tandem forever. He popped the question in December 2015 after eight years together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a devastating training crash in 2016, nine months after he proposed, ended Sam\u2019s career and rendered him a quadriplegic, Alise was by his side throughout his recovery. \u201cYou\u2019re not marrying a vegetable,\u201d he recalled telling her as a way of letting her know she could pedal on without him. To which she replied, \u201cYou\u2019re not a vegetable and the hell I\u2019m not marrying you. You\u2019re stuck with me.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While he still uses a wheelchair, Sam\u2014now his wife\u2019s coach\u2014has defied expectations, managing to walk down the aisle wearing braces at their 2019 wedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter the accident, I knew I wanted to be his rock from the word go,\u201d Alise said. \u201cNow, he\u2019s my rock when I\u2019m racing. It\u2019s kind of come full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe Kovacs and Ashley Kovacs (USA)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ashley Kovacs, a four-time All-American in shot put at University of Kentucky, has coached her husband Joe Kovacs since 2019 and in February was named 2024 Paris Olympics Women\u2019s Throw Coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Married since Nov. 18, 2023, the Kovacs have produced far more than a pile of shiny hardware: They welcomed twins Kannon and Kaari in October 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEverything is about them all the time, so we train when they nap,\u201d Ashley told WCMH, explaining why they have a shot put ring in the yard of their Ohio home. \u201cWe wanted to be able to have space where we could put a ring at our house so when they were down for a nap, that we could do what we needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Added Joe, \u201cNever have been happier in my life with my wife to the kids. It\u2019s the best life I could\u2019ve ever wished for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriella Willems and Christian Parlati (Belgium, Italy)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve supported each other for seven years, and sharing this moment is a dream come true,\u201d judo star Gabriella Willems, who got injured before the last Games, told Olympics.com of getting to experience Paris with fellow judoka Christian Parlati, who competed in Tokyo. \u201cHopefully, July 31st [the day of their respective finals] will be a happy day filled with tears of joy for both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Katie Boulter and Alex De Minaur (Great Britain, Australia)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After qualifying for Tokyo in 2021, tennis player Alex De Minaur had to drop out after testing positive for COVID, so he and Katie Boulter\u2014who played mixed doubles at Wimbledon together in 2023\u2014will both be making their Olympic debuts in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alex joked during a post-match interview in January after he was shown a sweet comment Katie left on his Instagram, \u201cI\u2019m actually surprised she said something nice about me. Normally every time she goes on social media to reply to my posts or whatever, it\u2019s always having a dig at me. So it\u2019s nice every now and again to get a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Katie may have a cheeky sense of humor\u2014\u201d(calm down not engaged\u2026just the only finger that ring fits),\u201d she wrote on a March post marking four years with Alex\u2014but their love is game, set, match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, she knew over an impromptu cup of coffee after they ran into each other at 6 a.m. while staying at the same hotel that he was the one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrowing up, I was always super-close to my grandpa,\u201d she told The Age in June. \u201cI always said to myself that if I can find someone who has half his heart, I\u2019ll be the luckiest woman in the world. I\u2019ve found that person in Alex.\u201d Lea Sch\u00fcller, who plays forward for Bayern Munich, will be making her Olympic debut with the German women\u2019s soccer team. And not only can two-time Olympic sailor Lara Vadlau show her the ropes (and tie them into nautical knots), Paris will give them the opportunity to be in the same city for three whole weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI find it really helpful because both of us understand what you have to do for your sport,\u201d Lara, who\u2019s a doctor in her spare time, said in an interview for her partner\u2019s footoball club, \u201cthat you\u2019re away a lot and don\u2019t see each other that often.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Added Lea, \u201cWe often only see each other for three to five days at a time. It\u2019s a bit like a long-distance relationship. Not because we live in different places\u2014we live together in Munich\u2014it\u2019s just one of us is always away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rossella Fiamingo and Gregorio Paltrinieri (Italy)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am excited as if I am the one competing,\u201d fencer Rossella Fiamingo told Olympics.com of watching her fianc\u00e9 in the pool\u2014or, if he competes in the 10K open water swim in Paris\u2014the River Seine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Gregorio Paltrinieri is all in on Rossella\u2019s sport, too, which he called \u201cbeautiful to watch.\u201d After adding another gold and silver to his tally at the 2023 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Gregorio made a surprise stop in Milan to catch the team \u00e9p\u00e9e final at the World Fencing Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRossella didn\u2019t know, she was shocked,\u201d he told Olympics.com afterward. \u201cShe asked me last night [about being there] and I told her I was exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, he may be a trickster, but he\u2019s also her No. 1 supporter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing Rossella was disappointed the Italian team only won silver, Gregorio added, \u201cThere are races in which you can do better and others worse, but it\u2019s part of the journey. It happens to me too, but I never lose faith. This is what I will tell her, not to lose faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dominik Cerny and Hana Burzalova (Slovakia)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dominik Cerny had Paris in mind when he proposed to Hana Burzalova at the finish line of the women\u2019s 35km race at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest last August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have been together for almost one Olympic cycle, almost four years,\u201d he told Olympics.com afterward, \u201cso I think it was the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They weren\u2019t speed-walking to the altar, he added, but \u201cmaybe we will decide only two days in advance. We like to do random things. At the Paris Olympics maybe we will start as the Cerny family\u2014maybe in the new event, the race walk relay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Way to keep the world on its toes while keeping one foot in contact with the ground at all times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils (Ukraine, France)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tennis champs Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils, married since 2021, have both done this whole Olympics thing before, but it\u2019s the first time they\u2019ve done it as parents, welcoming daughter Skai in October 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s a great mother first,\u201d Gael told reporters at the Miami Open in March 2023 after he and his wife had made the second round. \u201cThat\u2019s first. People want to put tennis first but I think she\u2019s a great mother first. This is the most important for me as her husband because of course we are a tennis couple but life is beyond our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elina has also stressed that she\u2019s more than a tennis player, telling TIME in April, \u201cI feel like I have the opportunities to help and also play for Ukrainian people, with their unbreakable spirit. Each time I step on the court, each time that I play a tennis match, I represent the Ukrainian people and their strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jo\u00e3o Chianca and Luana Silva (Brazil)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The men\u2019s and women\u2019s surfing events are taking place at Teahupo\u2019o on Tahiti, more than 9,500 miles away from Paris and the rest of the Games\u2014but at least Jo\u00e3o Chianca and Luana Silva will have each other!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: E NEWS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What might test an athlete\u2019s nerves more than competing on the world\u2019s biggest stage? If…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":19352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing","category-home","category-live-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n
Lea Sch\u00fcller and Lara Vadlau (Germany, Austria)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n