Engaged ice dancers face off in true test of love
Hubbell and Diaz engaged for 4 years
Three years after Adrian Diaz popped the question to Madison Hubbell on a high cliff overlooking the romantic port city of Barcelona, the two Olympic ice dancers are looking forward to finally planning their dream wedding.
First, though, they’ll have to spend Valentine’s Day in the most awkward way imaginable: competing against each other.
Hubbell and her longtime partner, Zachary Donohue, are in third place and aiming for a medal when the American duo concludes competition today with the free dance. Diaz and his partner, Olivia Smart, are farther down the standings as they try to improve on their rhythm dance with a memorable final performance for Spain. It has never been a very close fight,” Diaz said almost sheepishly.
Indeed, Hubbell and Donohue are among the elites of the ice dance world, a pair that was once an off-ice couple but was so good on it that they stayed partners _ and best friends — even when the relationship ended. Along the way, they’ve captured a pair of silver medals at the world championships and were fourth at the Pyeongchang Games.
Rare occasion
Diaz and Smart have never finished in the top 10 at the world championships.
So yes, the two pairs are competing against each other in the literal sense. But in the practical sense, there isn’t much competition at all. And that takes all of the stress out of what could be a tricky, delicate situation, allowing Hubbell and Diaz to be each other’s biggest fan on the rare occasions that they actually get a chance to sit in the stands.
Like during the team event last week, when Hubbell helped the US win the silver medal — which could be elevated to gold once the Russian doping scandal reaches its conclusion. Spain did not have a team competing in the event.