Raphaël Poirée of France and wife Liv Grete Poirée of Norway celebrate their victories at the Biathlon World Championship in Oberhof, Germany, on Feb. 15, 2004
The Poirées’ divided nationalities produced plenty of medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
That year, the couple was the first pair of married athletes to win medals at the same Games for different countries.
Raphaël, a French biathlete, won a silver and bronze medal in the pursuit and relay competitions. His Norwegian wife Liv Grete, also a biathlete, earned two silver medals for her home country.
“It has never been difficult,” Raphaël said of their romance in 2002. “Our countries, Norway and France, make is easy. They know that if I’m good, it’s because of her, and if she’s good, it’s because of me.”
“We’re always together,” Raphaël said, calling his wife the “essential key” to his success.
They met at the 1992 World Junior Olympics and married in 2000. The Poirées have three children.