Our Favorite Couples Competing in the 2024 Summer Olympic Paris Games

Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall

For Olympic track-and-field stars Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall, a double amputee, the spouses’ love story aptly began on the track, during a high school meet in Idaho in 2017. When Woodhall saw Davis-Woodhall, it was love at first sight. ‘I was like, ‘D---, that girl’s fine,” he recalled in a YouTube video. “I’m gonna marry that girl.” Five years later, he did just that: The duo traded vows in October 2022 at a vineyard in Texas.

This year, at the Paris Games, the married pair will both be vying for the gold in track-and-field events for Team USA: As Davis-Woodhall flaunts her speed and agility in the long jump, Woodhall will strive for first place in his third Paralympics.

Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird

The Paris Olympics will be a full-circle moment for Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, another athletic couple from the United States. The two athletes—Rapinoe a soccer star and Bird a basketball pro—first crossed paths at another Summer Olympic Games, one that occurred in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. After connecting at a press event there, they quickly began dating, and in 2020, they got engaged. During the following Summer Olympics, which took place in Tokyo in 2021 (a postponement that was due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the couple battled alongside one another once again. And they’ll repeat the cycle another time this year in Paris.

Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt

American fencing stars Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt are another Olympics power couple gearing up for Paris—but this won’t be their first Olympics debut. Throughout the course of their 12-year relationship (and five-year marriage), the two have competed in three consecutive Olympic Games together; Paris will be their fourth. While each appearance was full of incredible achievements, at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, they hit a huge milestone: Kiefer became the first American foil fencer to win an individual Olympic gold medal, and Meinhardt took home a bronze medal. 

Junelle Bromfield and Noah Lyles

Junelle Bromfield from Jamaica and Noah Lyles from the United States have both played an important role in one another’s athletic endeavors on the track. After meeting online in 2017, what started as a friendship eventually turned into a romantic connection. During the course of their relationship, Bromfield lost her mother to cancer, and it was Lyles’ unwavering support and encouragement to start therapy that reignited her love of running. “For the past couple of years, it's been hard for me mentally because I've had a lot of losses in my family and I'm just recovering and running on the track with love again,” she said.

Both Bromfield and Lyles sprinted in the 2020 Summer Olympics, and they’ll test their speed again at this year’s event in Paris. All eyes are on Lyles, who’s expected to take the lead in all of his races.

Katie Boulter and Alex De Minaur

Before they started dating in 2020, tennis stars Alex De Minaur and Katie Boulter’s romance began over a spontaneous cup of coffee at 6 a.m. The two were staying at the same hotel, and their impromptu run-in led to an early-morning date. After that, the athletes started seeing one another in secret—but on one condition: their relationship wouldn’t supersede tennis. “I think what was very important, as well, in the early stages is that we talked about tennis being our number one priority, and we would make all of this work, just finding that balance,” De Minaur said.  

Four years later, and the tennis stars’ game is as strong as ever. Both Boulter and De Minaur will make their Olympics debut in Paris for Great Britain and Australia, respectively. While De Minaur was previously enlisted in the Tokyo Olympic Games, he had to drop out at the last minute after testing positive for COVID-19, so now is his chance to shine. 

Alise Post and Sam Willoughby

Alise Willoughby of the United States and Sam Willoughby of Australia connected over MySpace nearly two decades ago—but, according to an interview with USA Today Sports, Sam was actually a fan of Alise’s before that. Eventually, after Sam visited Alise in California, the feeling became mutual. In December 2015, Sam got down on one knee, and they married one another on New Year’s Eve in 2017 in San Diego.

Although Alise and Sam were former BMX racing stars, just nine months after their engagement, Sam got into a tragic training accident and became quadriplegic. Even though Sam still uses a wheelchair, he managed to walk down the aisle in braces on his wedding day. Now, Sam is Alise’s coach, and he’s helping her vie for the gold in the Paris Olympics. 

Sydney McLaughlin and Andre Levrone Jr.

With two gold medals and a world record in track and field under her belt, United States’ Sydney McLaughlin is an Olympics champion. A year before she broke the record for the women’s 400-meter hurdle at the Tokyo Olympics, McLaughlin connected with Andre Levrone, a former NFL player, via mutual friends. The following year, Levrone popped the question. And in May 2023, the duo wed in Virginia. At the Paris Olympics, McLaughlin will attempt to take home another gold medal while her husband cheers her on.

Rossella Fiamingo and Gregorio Paltrinieri

While the full backstory of Italian couple Rossella Fiamingo and Gregorio Paltrinieri’s relationship isn’t fully known, the two are currently engaged, planning to spend the rest of their lives together. Fiamingo is a three-time Olympic fencer who has secured both a silver and bronze medal, while Paltrinieri is an Olympic swimmer and gold and silver medal owner. The engaged duo has qualified for the Paris Olympics, where they plan on competing at their respective sports and routing for one another on the sidelines.

Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils

Elina Svitolina, a tennis star from Ukraine, and Gael Monfils, a tennis player from France, aren’t just Olympians; they’re also proud parents of their daughter, Skai. After holding their wedding in 2021, the spouses welcomed Skai in October 2022. “People want to put tennis first, but I think she’s a great mother first,” Gael told reporters at the Miami Open in March 2023. “This is the most important for me as her husband because of course we are a tennis couple, but life is beyond our sport."

Tennis might not be their main priority, but it’s still a skill they’ve mastered since both will play matches at the Olympics this summer. Paris won’t be their first time battling it out, though. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Svitolina became the first Ukraine Olympian to win a medal for the country. For Monfils, Paris will mark his fourth Olympic appearance.

Dominik Cerny and Hana Burzalova

When Slovakian race walker Dominik Cerny asked to take his fellow Slovakian race walking girlfriend Hana Burzalova’s hand in marriage, the Olympics was on his mind. After Burzalova crossed the finish line at the World Athletics Championships in 2023, Cerny asked for her hand in marriage. “We’ve been together for almost one Olympic cycle, almost four years, so I think it was the right time,” he told Olympics.com. Almost one year later, the athletes will be racing for their country in Paris.