Rio is made for lovers.
Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh
Sports: The life mates and teammates play for Great Britain's field hockey team, and they're both two-time Olympians!
Their story: The Richardson-Walshes are a big freaking deal — they're the first married same-sex couple to compete in an Olympics! They first met nearly 20 years ago, and became a couple right before the Beijing Olympics in 2008. After winning a bronze medal for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, they got married the next year.
Aww alert: "We are a couple, we love each other and we happen to be playing in the same team," Kate told the BBC of their relationship. "I feel quite proud that I was brought up around hockey, where there have been lots of different ethnicities, religions, sexualities, and so on. It's normal, and I feel proud of that."
Brianne Theisen-Eaton and Ashton Easton
Sports: They're both two-time Olympians, but their national loyalties are split. Brianne is competing as a heptathlete for Canada, and her husband Ashton is a decathlete competing for the USA.
Their story: They met at the University of Oregon and got married in July 2013, a year after they both competed in the London Olympics. They share a coach — he even officiated their wedding — and they train together near their home in Eugene, Oregon.
Aww alert: Brianne regularly posts adorable photos of herself with her husband on her Instagram account.
Jen Armbruster and Asya Miller
Sports: They both play goalball, a sport specifically created for blind athletes, for the USA's Paralympic team.
Their story: Jen has played in six (!) Paralympic games since 1992, and Asya thought of her as a role model before they met while playing the game. They won a silver medal playing together in Athens in 2004, and got married in 2007, one year before winning the gold in Beijing. They had their first child, a son named Ryder, in 2011.
Aww alert: “Occasionally we do argue like spouses and our teammates laugh at it. And sometimes we use terms of endearment on the court,” Asya said in an interview for the upcoming games.
Carmen Marton and Safwan Khalil
Sports: The powerhouse Australian married couple is competing on the country's Taekwondo team. This will be Carmen's third Olympic appearance and Safwan's second.
Their story: The "glamour couple" of Australia's 2016 team first met in 2002 at a junior championship in Greece, but didn't start dating until years later. They got married according to Islamic law before competing in the London games in 2012, and had a civil ceremony in Australia after.
Aww alert: They're part of a four-person team heading to the Olympics. One of their teammates is Carmen's sister Caroline, and the other is their good friend Hayder Shkara. Their coach? Safwan's brother Ali.
from BuzzFeed - Sports http://ift.tt/2b2rqDh
