American luger Sophia Kirkby, 24, has been turning heads at the 2026 Winter Olympics for reasons that go well beyond her athletic performance. After jokingly crowning herself the “most desirable bachelorette” at the Games, her social media announcement about documenting her love life in the Olympic Village quickly caught fire and sparked an avalanche of interest from men around the world. By her own estimate, she received more than 2,000 message requests in a matter of days. But it was one particular admirer who truly went the extra mile, literally flying across Europe just to spend time with her.
Kirkby revealed the details of her unexpected Valentine’s Day during a Zoom conversation while sipping coffee on the streets of Milan, as reported by The New York Post. A fan had reached out to her roughly two weeks earlier with a bold but charming proposition. “He wrote: ‘Hey, I just found out I’m free from the 13th to the 16th of February. Would it be weird if I came and booked an Airbnb five minutes from you?’” she recalled. Her response was simple and encouraging: “Go for it.” The man, who is originally from the United States but currently lives in the United Kingdom, booked his flight and made the trip solely to see her.
The Valentine’s Day rendezvous turned into a proper romantic evening. Kirkby later shared photos on Instagram from the outing, one showing her posing alone with a glass of wine, and another of the two of them raising a toast together, though she kept his face hidden, leaving his identity a mystery to her followers. “He took me to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Cortina and, honestly, I am just enjoying life right now,” she wrote in her caption. “I’m really grateful that you’re here with me sharing all of this.” The gesture clearly made an impression on the young athlete, who has been embracing this chapter of her life with an open and playful spirit.
Her adventures in romance at the Games didn’t come without some hurdles, though. Kirkby explained that finding a match among fellow Olympians proved surprisingly difficult given the makeup of the Village. “I’m in a very small village here. There are the lugers, and I already know all of those people. Most of them have girlfriends, are married, or are in relationships,” she explained. She also noted that skeleton athletes were somewhat familiar to her, and as for the bobsled crowd, she had a personal reason to steer clear. “I’m done with that. My ex is a bobsled driver,” she added with a laugh. Even the curling team seemed to be taken, rounding out a rather slim pool of candidates.
Her foray into dating apps didn’t go much better. Kirkby updated her Tinder bio to read “I’m Sophia. I’m an Olympian. Please give me your best pickup line,” hoping to inspire some creativity. The response was largely disappointing. “Maybe two percent of them actually gave a real pickup line,” she said. “All they do is say ‘Hi.’ I was hoping they would put in some effort, so I’m not going to respond to them.” On the flip side, she had clear favorites among the thousands of messages flooding her regular inbox, giving high marks to the men who led with all the relevant details upfront, specifically name, height, age, and occupation.
Despite the dating drama, Kirkby had plenty to celebrate on the athletic side as well. She and her partner Chevonne Forgan made history at these Games by competing in the very first women’s pairs luge race ever held at the Winter Olympics, finishing in fifth place. It was a milestone moment for the sport, and Kirkby took it in stride before shifting gears toward some well-earned relaxation. The American team’s arrangement also worked in her favor socially, as the U.S. was among the few delegations covering the cost for athletes to remain in the Olympic Village for the full duration of the Games. “So I’m just going to have fun. This is my time to relax,” she said.
Beyond sliding down an ice track at high speed and navigating the complexities of Olympic-village romance, Kirkby also keeps herself busy with a creative pursuit: ceramics. She has been selling her own handmade badges in Cortina, adding an artisan flair to her already multifaceted Olympic experience.
Luge is one of the oldest and most technically demanding sliding sports, with athletes reaching speeds of up to 90 miles per hour on a narrow ice track while lying on their backs on a small sled. The sport has been part of the Winter Olympics since 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria. Women’s singles luge has been an Olympic discipline since that inaugural year, while the doubles event has traditionally been contested by men. The introduction of women’s doubles at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games marked a long-awaited milestone for gender equality in the sport, expanding opportunities for female athletes at the highest level of competition.
If you have any thoughts on Sophia Kirkby’s Olympic romance adventure or the historic milestone she and Chevonne Forgan achieved on the track, feel free to share them in the comments.
