They say that couples who play together, stay together. If that’s the case, these Olympic athlete pairs may just have what it takes to go the distance.
Below, 12 twosomes who are competing at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro and giving us major #RelationshipGolds.
1. Kate Richardson-Walsh and Helen Richardson-Walsh
Country: Great Britain
Sport: Field hockey
Kate and Helen made history this year before they even took the field in Rio. They are the first married same-sex couple to compete in the Olympic Games. Rio will be the fourth Olympic Games for both women, who won bronze for their team in 2012 even after Kate, a star player, fractured her jaw. When the Richardson-Walshes said their “I dos” in 2013, their entire Olympic squad was invited.
“We’re very professional in that we draw a line and when we’re at hockey we are Kate and Helen, hockey players and teammates,” team captain Kate Richardson-Walsh told the BBC in 2014. “Away from hockey we’re Kate and Helen the couple. It’s important that line is drawn and to be able to say to each other, ‘that’s not good enough’ and not start having a row about it afterwards.”
2. Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen-Eaton
Country: USA (him) and Canada (her)
Sport: Track and field
Eaton and Theisen-Eaton met as teammates at the University of Oregon but will be competing on behalf of different countries at the Rio Games. Eaton, a decathlete and gold-medal winner, is part of Team USA while Theisen-Eaton, a heptathlete, is part of Team Canada. They have been married since 2013.
“We’re both driven individuals, and even though we are both athletes and both go through hard times as athletes ― maybe it’s an injury, or maybe it’s an event you can’t figure out or maybe you don’t win a meet that you wanted to ― we are supportive of one another in those tough times, and that’s how you really get close to someone and grow,” Eaton told People earlier this month.
3. Carmen Marton and Safwan Khalil
Country: Australia
Sport: Taekwondo
Engaged couple Marton and Khalil go way back ― they first met in 2002 at the World Junior Taekwondo Championships in Greece and began dating years later. Both are children of refugees; Marton’s parents left Poland after World War II and Khalil’s parents left Lebanon during the civil war in the 1980s. This year, the Aussie Olympic Taekwondo team is very much a family affair with Marton’s sister Caroline also competing.
“I always had a special spot for Safwan because he was very funny and charming and we got along quite well,” Marton recently told HuffPost Australia. “It’s natural to start seeing different qualities in someone the older you get, the more you mature.”
4. Lewis Holland and Charlotte Caslick
Country: Australia
Sport: Rugby
For the first time since 1924, rugby is back in the Olympic Games, this time in the sped-up “sevens” format. Holland and Caslick, who live together on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, are regarded as two of the top players coming out of Australia, according to The Daily Telegraph. On Monday, Caslick and her teammates brought home the gold for Australia.
“You have literally been there every step of my rugby 7’s career,” Caslick wrote on Instagram after finding out they were both going to Rio. “From watching my first tournament for Australia to now, we have made some pretty awesome memories with so many more to come. I hope I’ve helped you grow as much as you’ve helped me.”
5. Laura Trott and Jason Kenny
Country: Great Britain
Sport: Track cycling
Trott ― who won two gold medals at her first Olympic Games in London ― and Kenny ― a three-time Olympic gold medalist ― went public with their relationship after they were spotted kissing at the beach volleyball finals at the 2012 Games. They got engaged on Christmas Day in 2014.
“We do talk about winning medals over breakfast,” Trott told The Irish Mirror recently. “I remember before London we were saying to each other, ‘We could both win two gold medals here’ and it was really exciting.”
6. Tim Price and Jonelle Price
Country: New Zealand
Sport: Eventing
At the 2012 Olympics, Jonelle was part of the bronze medal-winning equestrian team for New Zealand. Her husband Tim made his Olympic debut at the Rio Games. Interestingly, equestrian is the only Olympic sport where men and women compete equally against one another. The Prices, who have been married since January 2013, have gone head-to-head previously and vied for the same team spots in a number of international competitions.
“Of course there are challenges. We have been together for 15 years, so even though we are a bit more in the public eye and a little more high profile, we have been together for a very long time,” Jonelle told Eventing Connect in 2014. “When we met, we were riding and competing alongside each other, so we have never known any different.”
7. Mitch Larkin and Emily Seebohm
Country: Australia
Sport: Swimming
Backstrokers Mitch Larkin and Emily Seebohm of Brisbane have been called a power couple of the pool. At the 2012 London Games, Larkin placed 8th in the 200-meter backstroke final. Seebohm competed at both the 2008 and 2012 Games where she earned two gold medals and two silver medals in both individual and relay events. But the pair knows how to separate the sport from their relationship.
“When we get onto the pool deck we are not boyfriend and girlfriend,” Seebohm told The Courier-Mail in April. “We are just friends who know each other really well.”
8. Chris Adcock and Gabby Adcock
Country: Great Britain
Sport: Badminton
The Adcocks became husband and wife in 2013, but met through badminton as teenagers. Now, they’ll be competing together in the mixed doubles in Rio. This is Gabby’s first Olympics; Chris qualified for the London Games in 2012 with a different partner.
“It is even more exciting that I get to go with Gabby,” he told The Nottingham Post earlier this month. “It will be a dream come true walking out with Team GB on my back alongside Gabby. I am really excited by the prospect.”
9. Gerek Meinhardt and Lee Kiefer
Country: USA
Sport: Fencing
Meinhardt and Kiefer, both foil fencers coming out of the University of Notre Dame, enjoy practicing against each other. This will be Meinhardt’s third Olympics ― he was the youngest Olympic fencer in U.S. history when he made his debut at the 2008 Games in Beijing. It will be Kiefer’s second Olympic appearance; in 2012, she placed fifth in the individual competition.
“I am so proud of you @gerekmeinhardt!” Kiefer wrote on Instagram after Meinhardt lost in the men’s individual foil quarterfinals on Sunday. “All of us were in the bout with you, and we love you so much! You have accomplished so much as a three-time Olympian and are the most creative and beautiful fencer I know. You were amazing today.”
10. LJ van Zyl and Irvette van Zyl
Country: South Africa
Sport: Track and field
At the Rio Games, LJ will be competing in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, while Irvette will be running in the women’s marathon. The van Zyls began dating after the Beijing Games in 2008, got engaged in December 2011 and married after the London Games in 2012. They welcomed a son named Louis in September 2015.
“I don’t think there can be anything more special than representing your country at an Olympic Games together with the woman you really love,” LJ told SuperSport.com in May. “To be an Olympian is the ultimate for any athlete and to be able to share it with your wife makes it just that little bit more special.”
11. Federica Pellegrini and Filippo Magnini
Country: Italy
Sport: Swimming
Gold medalist Pellegrini, who has been called Italy’s most popular female athlete, was selected as the flag-bearer for her country at the opening ceremonies in Rio. She set the 200-meter freestyle world record in 2009 and will be competing in both individual and relay events in Rio. Magnini, her boyfriend since 2011, took home a bronze for the 4x200-meter freestyle relay in Athens in 2004.
In May, Pellegrini told Vanity Fair Italia that for now, she and Magnini are focused on Rio, but that “marriage is an idea that I really like.”
12. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor and Chris Walker-Hebborn
Country: Great Britain
Sport: Swimming
O’Connor and Walker-Hebborn, both swimmers for Team Great Britain, have been an item for two years. In Rio, O’Connor’s event is the 200-meter individual medley; Walker-Hebborn’s is the 100-meter backstroke. At the 2015 World Aquatic Championships, the pair swam on the same relay team in the 4x100-meter medley and took home a gold medal.
“It is like having your best friend there with you,” O’Connor recently told The Telegraph of competing in the same sport as her boyfriend. “We massively support each other. It is like having your family at a competition in that it provides that comfort. We are there for each other, but we try to do normal people things ― go out for food and have normal hobbies.”
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Correction: An earlier version of this post included a photo of Damian Warner instead of Ashton Eaton. This story has been updated.
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