Team USA ice hockey captain Hilary Knight got down on one knee Wednesday and proposed to fellow American Olympian and speed skating champion Brittany Bowe at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy. Bowe said yes.
Knight shared the heartwarming moment in a reel posted to her Instagram starting with her getting down to present the ring, to Bowe eventually leaping into her arms.
“Olympics brought us together. This one made us forever,” read the caption of the post.
The two have been together since the 2022 Beijing Games where their relationship began during post-competition walks in the Olympic Village.
Knight is competing in her fifth and final Olympics as captain of the U.S. women’s ice hockey team. During these Games she tied the all-time U.S. Olympic records for goals and points in women’s hockey. She and Team USA have advanced to the gold medal final vs. Canada.
Brittany Bowe is a three-time Olympian and six-time world speed skating champion. At these Games she finished fourth in the women’s 1,000 meters and fourth in the women’s team pursuit. She has one event remaining in the Women’s 1,500 meters on Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET
Hilary Knight and Brittany Bowe Got To Know Each Other at the Beijing Olympics
Knight and Bowe first met each other through Team USA events over the years but did not become close until the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. COVID-19 protocols made socializing in the Village difficult but the two began taking evening walks together after competition days which eventually led to a deeper connection.
“It was just a really good way to get to know her, going for walks, getting out of our suites,” Knight said at the time. “To have that human connection, even walking outside at a distance, it was really cool.”
Bowe said getting to know Knight off the ice changed her perception of her.
“Knowing her as a hockey player, it’s like this big, strong, powerful female,” Bowe said. “But then, when we got to know each other, she was soft, genuine, kind, almost shy.”
Both athletes have spoken about how their shared experience as elite competitors has given them a strong foundation.
“We have normal human conversations and then we have Olympic athlete conversations about tactical and technical parts of our training,” Knight said. “She’s so intentional and thoughtful with preparation and it’s something that I hope has rubbed off on me.”
Bowe noted the influence Knight’s advocacy work has had on her own career off the ice.
“I became an elite athlete director on the US Speedskating board because of her,” Bowe said.
She also shared that Knight had once surprised her by flying to the Netherlands to watch her compete during a difficult stretch of her season, arriving just an hour before the race after catching multiple connecting flights following a hockey game.
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