Hilary Knight, a member of the U.S. women’s gold medal-winning ice hockey team at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games, ended what she says will be her final Olympics with a Hallmark-worthy flourish.
Knight, who has been dating world record speed skater and fellow U.S. Olympian Brittany Bowe, posted a February 19 Instagram video of herself dropping to one knee and proposing in what appears to be a section of the Olympic Village. The two are among 49 out LGBTQ Olympians competing in Milano Cortina — eight of them representing the United States.
The video shows Bowe accepting the proposal and slipping on an engagement ring, followed by a still image of her proudly displaying it. Another clip captures Knight lifting Bowe off the ground as the couple embraces.
“Olympics brought us together. This one made us forever,” Knight wrote in the caption, referring to how their relationship began four years ago at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The couple has represented the United States in a combined nine Olympic Games, winning seven medals over the course of their careers. Both athletes have said the 2026 Winter Games would be their final Olympic appearance.
As reported by Outsports, the proposal took place on the morning of Knight’s final Olympic appearance — the gold medal game between the United States and Canada. With the U.S. trailing, Knight scored the tying goal to force overtime, and the Americans ultimately prevailed, 2-1.
Knight previously described closing out her career with another gold medal as a “storybook ending,” but her engagement to Bowe only amplified the moment.
“Hilary always goes out with a bang,” fellow U.S. hockey player Kendall Coyne Schofield told The Athletic. “From the proposal that had me falling off a chair to her record-breaking goal. I mean, you can’t script it any better. Obviously, getting another gold medal for her, so happy for her. The greatest to do it and you literally can’t script it any better.”
At least 44 out LGBTQ athletes will compete at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, setting a record for a Winter Games, according to the LGBTQ sports news site Outsports.
The Games, which officially kick off on Friday, February 6, will feature 34 out women and 10 out men -- a roughly 7-to-2 ratio that is significantly lower than the 9-to-1 ratio seen at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
According to Outsports, the lower ratio reflects the fact that the Winter Olympics feature fewer team sports, where out female athletes are more common. In Milan, 22 of the 34 out women are ice hockey players, making hockey the sport with the largest LGBTQ presence.
Grindr will disable its location feature and roll out additional privacy protections for users staying at the Olympic Village during the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
The company announced the stepped-up security measures on its blog, saying the changes are intended to protect LGBTQ athletes -- particularly those from countries where homosexuality is criminalized or punishable by death -- from what it described as "real safety risks."
"Grindr shows users who's nearby and how far away they are," the blog post read. "In most contexts, that's useful. In the Olympic Village where thousands of athletes are packed into a small area, those same features may become a liability.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron is at the center of a judging controversy after winning gold in the ice dance competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
Cizeron and partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry captured the top prize following a free dance that observers criticized for visible errors in their twizzle sequences during both the Rhythm and Free Dance segments. By contrast, silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates were widely praised for delivering what CNN Sports described as a "nearly perfect" performance.
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