Olympic romance, viral fame, and one bold bachelorette.

The Winter Olympics often bring stories about romance along with the competition. This year, Sophia Kirkby stepped right into that attention.

The Team USA luger arrived in Cortina d’Ampezzo and jokingly called herself the Games’ “most eligible bachelorette.” She invited men from Milan and Cortina to take her on dates. She even offered to trade her handmade ceramic pins for a night out. Social media took notice, and so did thousands of hopeful suitors.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Kirkby explained what really happened after those posts. She talked honestly about her dating life, what it is like to live in the Olympic Village, and the rumors that followed.

“I’m a pretty open book,” Kirkby said. “I tell a lot of people things, just if I think it’s funny and harmless.” She said she wanted women to “live vicariously” through her journey.

Kirkby grew up in Lake Placid, New York, a small town in the Adirondacks. She said the dating pool back home feels limited. She saw the Olympics as a chance to meet new people and take risks.

The response stunned her. “I probably have at least 3,000 requests that I have yet to look at,” she said. “I’m just getting so many men messaging me and trying to shoot their shot.”

She went on five dates during the Games. One Italian police officer took her out for sushi. A fellow Olympian also asked her out. Her first date ended as what she called a “friendship kind of date.”

Her most memorable night came on Valentine’s Day. An American man who lives in the UK flew to Cortina to see her. He booked four hours at a spa. They used the sauna, pool and tried ice bathing. Later, he took her to a Michelin starred restaurant. “I’m going to be thinking about that pasta for so long, I don’t think I would ever be able to re-create it,” she said.

Inside The Olympics Village And Addressing The Rumors

Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby (Photo By Michael Madrid-Imagn Images)
Kirkby now says she has stopped dating for the rest of the Games. “I’m done now, I’m tired,” she said. She plans to spend time with friends and enjoy the remaining events.

She described the Olympic Village as a “brand new trailer park” set up on an airstrip, and moreover, she shares a wall with other athletes. “The walls aren’t that thick,” she said. “I can hear the conversations that they’re having.”

The Village carries a long-standing reputation for wild behavior and free condoms. Kirkby pushed back on that image. “I have not seen a single Olympic condom,” she said. “I have not used an Olympic condom, and I don’t plan to use any condoms. My intimacy life here in the Olympic Village has been non-existent.”

Kirkby also rejected claims that she plans to post adult content. “I think few people have realized that even though I’ve put myself out there, I’ve shared that I’m interested to go on dates with people, I was doing all this without showing any skin and without implying anything sexual,” she said.

Her follower count jumped from a few thousand to nearly 50,000 in a few weeks. She said growth brings “both lovers and haters.” Still, she has no regrets. She said she balanced social media and sport with pride. And she left the door open for a sequel in 2030.