Simone Biles, Tom Daley and other Olympians heading towards the 2024 Paris Olympics found success not only in their careers, but with equally accomplished partners.
Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, started dating NFL safety Jonathan Owens in 2020. After three years of dating, the two tied the knot in an intimate courthouse wedding in April 2023.
Being an athlete himself, Owens understands what it’s like competing under pressure. In the 2024 Netflix docuseries Simone Biles Rising, the gymnast revealed how she and her husband support one another.
“It’s nice to come to these games and to relate to the other girls,” Biles said in the documentary. “It’s really important for me to be here to support my husband, because he’s supported me throughout my career, and I get to return that favor.”
Another Olympian who has a famous partner to lean on is British diver Tom Daley. The gold medalist married American screenwriter and director Dustin Lance Black in May 2017. The gold medalist faced a low point in his mental health following the 2012 London Olympics and contemplated quitting the sport entirely until he met his husband in 2013.
“I was able to speak to Lance about achieving something and then what it feels like on the other side of it,” Daley told Emma Levy on the “When Life Gives You Lemons” podcast in April 2024. “He had won his Oscar and on the other side of it, he really struggled to get back into what he wanted to do in the film space.”
Daley pushed through the uncertainty and went on to earn a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and his first gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Keep scrolling to see other 2024 Olympic athletes and their famous partners:
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens
The gymnast met Owens through the dating app Raya in 2020 and tied the knot in April 2023. Throughout their relationship, Biles and Owens have motivated and supported each other knowing the pressure that comes with being a professional athlete.
“When I see her getting up and going to practice every morning, it motivates me even more,” Owens told Texas Monthly in June 2021. “It’s a great feeling when the person you’re in a relationship with understands what you’re going through.”
Naomi Osaka and Cordae
Four-time tennis Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka is set to represent Japan at her second Olympic Games in Paris. The athlete has been dating American rapper Cordae since 2019 and gave birth to their first daughter, Shai, in July 2023. The Grammy-nominated artist has supported Osaka’s tennis career throughout the years, appearing in the stands at her games and cheering her on in Instagram posts.
After welcoming their baby girl, Osaka spoke to InStyle in December 2023 saying that they “built a really good foundation” and that “if we disagree on something, we talk it out. At the end of the day, we both want what’s best for Shai.”
Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry
Warriors point guard Stephen Curry was drafted as the fifth player to join Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, marking his Olympic debut. Curry met actress Ayesha when they were teenagers long before he was drafted into the NBA, but the two didn’t pursue a romantic relationship until 2008. They tied the knot in 2011 and have four kids together: Riley (born in 2012), Ryan (born in 2015), Canon (born in 2018), and Caius (born in 2024).
Curry revealed to The Denver Post in April 2024 that he had been planning to make his Olympic debut this summer for some time and that he and Ayesha planned ahead when it came to welcoming their fourth child that June.
“We thought about it ahead of time, which was nice,” Curry said at the time. “If the timing didn’t work at a certain month in the fall, we actually would have made a different decision knowing the Olympics were on the radar.”
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Andre Levrone
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone booked a spot at her third Olympics by setting a new world record in the 400m hurdles at the U.S. trials. The athlete prepared for the trials with the support of her husband and NFL wide receiver Andre Levrone. The two tied the knot in May 2022 and McLaughlin-Levrone detailed the start of their love story in her 2024 book, Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith.
The two met when McLaughlin posted a selfie and captioned it with “Attention.” She wrote in her book that she “wasn’t trying to get” Levrone’s attention “or anyone else’s” but when she checked her phone later that day, he sent a message saying, “You have my attention. How can I get yours?”
Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall
Tara Davis-Woodhall secured a spot in her second Olympics Games after winning the long jump event at the Olympic Trials. Alongside her will be her husband, Hunter Woodhall, who will be competing in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. Woodhall had both his legs amputated when he was 11 months old due to fibular hemimelia (a shortening or complete lack of the fibula bone). The runner traded his prosthetic legs for carbon fiber blades for running in order to join his school’s track team and Paris will be his third appearance at the Paralympics.
The couple tied the knot in October 2022 and in a June 2024 interview with Team USA, Davis-Woodhall expressed how grateful she was to have her husband by her side.
“We hold each other accountable — we’re a partnership, we’re a team, and every day it’s a new experience,” She said at the time. “But we get to do it together, so it makes it ten times better.”
Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt
Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt are the ultimate power couple on Team USA for fencing. Paris marks the couple’s fourth and fifth Olympic Games, respectively. Kiefer holds a gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Games while Meinhardt is a two-time bronze medalist. The couple started dating in 2012 and tied the knot in September 2019. Over the years, the duo have brought out the best in each other in both their relationship and in fencing.
“She pushes me in ways to help me out of my comfort zone, her intensity inspires me,” Meinhardt told Team USA in October 2023. “And I try to help her find the balance of not overdoing things. It’s about reaching your potential, and I think we bring a lot to each other in different ways.”
Alise Willoughby and Sam Willoughby
Silver medalist Alise Willoughby joined Team USA’s BMX racing team and will be participating in her fourth Olympic Games. By her side is her coach and husband, Sam, who is also an Olympic silver medalist. After the 2016 Olympics, a crash during a training session left him paralyzed from the chest down. Alise stuck by his side and the two tied the knot in December 2017. Now, he supports his wife as her coach.
“Sam is my biggest motivation,” Alise told Team USA in May 2024. “It’s unfair what happened. He shows up, and he gets on with it. So you know, if he’s going to do that, I’m going to do that.”
Breanna Stewart and Marta Xargay
WNBA star Breanna Stewart is a two-time gold medalist heading towards her third Olympic Games. While playing for a Russian professional women’s basketball club in 2018, Stewart met wife and now retired basketball player, Marta Xargay. Their romance kickstarted in April 2019 when Stewart ruptured her Achilles tendon and the two had to settle for a long distance relationship while Stewart recovered. The two tied the knot in a private ceremony in July 2021. The spouses welcomed daughter Ruby in August 2021 and son Theo Josep in October 2023, both via surrogacy.
Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor
Diana Taurasi is looking forward to her sixth Olympic Games in hopes of securing her sixth consecutive gold medal. Upon joining the Phoenix Mercury in 2004, Taurasi met her teammate and now wife, Penny Taylor, who is a two-time Olympic silver medalist from Australia. The two didn’t start dating until after Taylor retired in 2016. The couple tied the knot in 2017 and have two children together: son Leo Michael (born in 2018) and daughter Isla (born in 2021).
Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black
Daley is making history as the first British diver to compete at five Olympic Games after securing a spot on the British synchronized diving squad for the Paris Games. After winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Daley told reporters how his husband helped push him forward after failing to win gold at the 2016 Rio Games.
“I thought I was going to win an Olympic gold medal in Rio, and that turned out the complete opposite by a long shot,” Daley said at the time. “And it was my husband who said to me that my story wasn’t finished, and my son or child — we didn’t know at the time — needed to be there to watch me win an Olympic gold medal.”
The couple tied the knot in May 2017 and welcomed sons, Robert and Phoenix, via surrogacy in 2018 and 2023, respectively.
