American Winter Olympics star Sophia Kirkby may have missed out on a medal but is not missing out on the dating scene while she is at Milan-Cortina.
Kirkby was competing in the women’s doubles luge and came fifth alongside partner Chevonne Forgan.
Before she arrived in Italy, she made it clear that it was not just an Olympic medal she was hoping to snap up on her trip to Europe.
Posting a video of herself with the caption ‘Athlete Village’s Most Eligible Bachelorette Arrives Tomorrow’ she wrote on Instagram: ‘I’ve been so excited to enter the Olympic village. I’m happy to announce I’ll be showing you the inside life of an Olympian dating at the Olympics. Stay tuned.’
Things have been going very nicely for her on that front, going on multiple dates, but keeping the identity of the men secret, covering their faces in photos with pins.
The most notable of her suitors is a fan who snuck into her DMs before the Winter Olympics began and flew from the UK to see her in Italy – with a flight from London to Milan clocking in at over 600 miles!
They went out on Valentine’s Day, with Kirkby revealing the details of their date in a social media video.
‘So here’s the details from my date yesterday,’ she said. ‘I had an American guy who is based in the UK right now and he actually came to Cortina just to see me.
‘He’s a guy who DMd me a couple of weeks ago and the following couple of weeks, he said, “Hey, Sophia, would it be so weird, I found out I had a couple of days off, can I please come to Cortina and visit you?” I said, “Yeah why not?”
‘He came here to Cortina, just to visit me. He took me to the spa and then we went to a Michelin star restaurant. For the third course I had the best pasta I ever had. I’m going to be thinking about this pasta for years.
‘Overall I had a really fun Valentine’s Day.’
The 24-year-old kept her followers up to date during her meet-up with the mystery man, posting: ‘Valentine’s Day, but make it recovery. 🧖♀️
‘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 🌹☕️.’
She added later: ‘Happy Valentine’s Day XOXO 💕
‘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.’
While it is hard to tell because she covers her date’s face, it does look suspiciously like two different people in the pictures from the spa and the restaurant, with the hair appearing very different.
Whether that was the same man from spa to restaurant or not, Kirkby is looking to rack up plenty of dates while she has the chance to stay in the Olympic Village.
She told the New York Post: ‘I’m fortunate that I’m one of the countries that gets to stay in the Olympic Village. 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.’
Single men be advised, though, you’ve got to get creative if you’re going to message the Olympian.
‘It’s a little disappointing, I’m not going to lie. In my bio, I even said, “I’m Sophia. I’m an Olympian. Please give me your best pickup line.” Maybe 2% of them are pickup lines,’ she said.
‘All they do is say, “Hi” or “Ciao.” I was hoping that they would deliver, so I’m not going to respond to them.’