Hilary Knight on Her ‘Magical’ Month Winning Olympic Gold, Getting Engaged and Appearing on “SNL”: ‘It’s Been Surreal’
· Yahoo Sports
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NEED TO KNOW
- U.S. women's hockey star Hilary Knight tells PEOPLE about her "magical" 2026 Winter Olympics, sharing details about her engagement to speed skater Brittany Bowe
- In addition to helping Team USA win gold, Knight also became the all-time leading goal-scorer in U.S. women's hockey at the Olympics
- Knight says she and Bowe are "excited" about the future and planning their wedding
It’s safe to say the past few weeks have been the most memorable of Hilary Knight’s career.
Less than 24 hours after proposing to her fiance and fellow Olympic athlete Brittany Bowe, the 36-year-old U.S. women’s hockey captain helped lift Team USA to its third-ever gold medal with a dramatic game-tying goal in the final minutes against rival Canada. By the end of the gold medal game, the U.S. women were crowned champs and Knight, who became the country’s all-time leading goal scorer in the process, had become a solidified star.
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The following weeks have included a growing list of appearances in celebration, including a cameo on Saturday Night Live, an appearance on The Tonight ShowStarringJimmy Fallon and many interviews. “It’s been surreal and magical,” Knight told PEOPLE, two days before she later appeared on the red carpet at the 2026 Oscars.
“It felt like a true storybook ending for me,” says Knight, who has yet to make an official announcement but will likely retire from Team USA before the next Olympic Games take place in 2030.
Hilary KnightCredit: Frazer Harrison/WireImage
Knight, who spoke with members of the media on behalf of a Hershey’s ad campaign last week, said she’s kept busy since winning gold with the U.S. women’s hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics – where she also tore her MCL during the team’s second game of the tournament in early February.
“I’m filling the reservoir in a great way,” says Knight, who is currently missing time from her PWHL team, the Seattle Torrent, while rehabbing the injury to her knee.
Knight has plenty on her plate anyhow, including dreaming up her wedding plans with Bowe.
“We have done zero wedding planning,” Knight says, laughing about the sudden bombardment of questions about her and Bowe’s relationship in recent weeks. “We’re really content with where we are.”
Hilary Knight and Brittany Bowe get engaged in February 2026.Credit: Hilary Knight/Instagram
Bowe, 38, told PEOPLE ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics that the couple first met at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, finding themselves going on long walks and dinner dates each night inside the Olympic Village. “That was the biggest win coming out of Beijing for sure,” said Bowe, who also won bronze at the Beijing Games.
When 2026 rolled around, Knight says she came up with the idea of proposing at the Winter Olympics to make it a full-circle moment for the couple. “I was thinking of where I could do the proposal and I had an epiphany, like, we’ve spent so much of our lives in this Olympic journey and we’re both preparing for our last Olympic Games, like, should I propose at the Olympics?” Knight recalls thinking. “That would be so iconic for the both of us. That would be so special.”
The special moment happened the day after Knight became Team USA’s all-time leading scorer and the day before she led the U.S. to its dramatic come-from-behind gold medal win over Canada.
Hilary Knight and Britany BoweCredit: Hilary Knight/Instagram
Because of their athletic careers — Knight based in Seattle with the Torrent and Bowe based in Salt Lake City where she trains most of the year — the U.S. hockey star and the speed skater often go more than a month without seeing each other. But that will soon change with the couple engaged and winding down their athletic careers, Knight notes. Bowe will soon be around Seattle more now that she’s retired from speed skating, and the couple is currently making plans for when they can spend more routine time together in the summer.
“We’re really excited,” says Knight, looking at the future and basking in her recent big wins with Team USA and Bowe. “To be able to celebrate one another, and each other’s success, on a world stage together in Italy? It was really special.”
Read the original article on People