Winter Olympics star dating fan who slid into DMs and flew 600 miles to meet her | Other | Sport

Sophia Kirkby’s bold move to crown herself the “most eligible bachelorette” at the Winter Olympics seems to have worked, with the Team USA athlete now dating a fan. Kirkby attracted attention on social media by publicly declaring her search for romance and is now enjoying the rewards.

The 24-year-old and her partner Chevonne Forgan narrowly missed out on a medal in the doubles luge earlier this week, placing fifth in Milan-Cortina. However, rather than heading back to America deflated, Kirkby has chosen to remain in the athletes’ village and embrace the celebrations. She has been documenting her experience on Instagram, keeping her 39,000 followers informed about her romantic adventures.

Kirkby created Hinge and Tinder profiles and has been actively swiping, whilst also publicly inviting American snowboarder Jake Pates to accompany her on a date.

Yet it was a determined fan who has been spending the greatest amount of time with the Olympian, with Kirkby disclosing the extraordinary measures the unnamed man took to arrange a date with her.

“He is a fan that jumped into my DMs two weeks ago,” she told the New York Post.

“He said: ‘Hey, I just found out I have the 13th to 16th off. Would it be weird if I came and booked an Airbnb five minutes from you?’.

“And I was like: ‘Go ahead’. He’s actually from the United States. He’s just currently living in the UK. And he flew here just to see me.”

Following a fifth-place finish in her maiden Olympics, approximately one second behind the victorious Italian duo, Kirkby swiftly shifted her focus from competing on the ice to pursuing romance.

She uploaded a video with the caption: “I have my first date scheduled tomorrow”.

She had been actively seeking dates ahead of Valentine’s Day on Saturday and evidently succeeded, posting a photograph of herself with a pizza slice.

Kirkby added the caption: “My first date in Cortina after my competitions,” together with an image of her date, though with his face concealed by a USA badge.

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Kirkby subsequently posted a video of herself wearing a red swimsuit detailing her Valentine’s Day plans: a spa and sauna visit with “a boy”.

She later uploaded another photograph of herself alongside the unidentified man wearing a bathrobe.

The caption read: “Had the loveliest spa date today-bathrobes, sauna time, and a little reset after the most intense couple weeks of my life.

“Keeping his face private, but I’ll say this: the company was very good and the vibes were very calm. Now we’re switching from spa mode to dinner mode… Cortina tonight.”

Unsurprisingly, followers were kept informed about that dinner as well.

Kirkby wrote: “My spa date took me to a Michelin-star dinner in Cortina, and I’m honestly just enjoying life right now. I’m really grateful you’re here with me for all of it.”

There was additional content, including a video of Kirkby in Cortina with the caption “Living my best life + meeting cute boys.”

Kirkby was also eager to reassure her followers that she was only enjoying herself after her competition had concluded.

“I’m fortunate that I’m one of the countries that gets to stay in the Olympic Village,” she told the New York Post.

“The majority of my competitors I saw leave today, but fortunately for me, Team USA is one of the few countries that pays a premium for us to be here the entire time. So I’m just gonna have fun. It’s my vacation time.”

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