Love takes a flight: Kateryna Kotsar’s Olympic big air dream turns into a Valentine’s Day fairytale
Ukrainian freeskier qualifies for final, then gets a surprise proposal
Love soared higher than the jumps on Valentine’s Day when Ukrainian freeskier Kateryna Kotsar experienced the most unforgettable night of her career.
On a crisp evening in the Italian Alps, Kotsar secured her place in the Olympic big air final, and moments later, received an even bigger surprise. As the celebrations began, her boyfriend, Bohdan Fashtryha, dropped to one knee and proposed.
She said yes.
Still wearing her crash helmet and snow-dusted ski suit, Kotsar flashed her sparkling diamond ring with disbelief and joy.
“I think he was nervous enough. It was so cute, to be honest,” she said, beaming. “I’m still excited and can’t understand what happened tonight because it’s two really huge things for me.”
The 25-year-old Kyiv native had just qualified for Monday’s big air final, where she’ll compete against defending Olympic champion Eileen Gu and 10 other athletes for a podium finish.
For Kotsar, the magical engagement is a rare moment of brightness against the harsh backdrop of life back home in Ukraine.
“You live without electricity, without heating, without the opportunity to wash your clothes and do some pretty simple things,” she said of conditions in Kyiv.
