clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Olympian Sarka Pancochova won’t marry her girlfriend until it’s legal for all Czechs

Sarka Pancochova talks about her girlfriend, marriage, coming out in the Czech Republic and that 2018 Olympic competition.

Sarka Pancochova Press Conference
Sarka Pancochova has competed in three Olympic Games, and she’s hoping to make it four in 2022.
Photo by Matej Divizna/Getty Images

Olympic snowboarder Sarka Pancochova, who represents the Czech Republic, and her girlfriend, Kaileen, have a how-we-met story for today. Like dates for generations, it involves a movie. Yet it also entails a phone app, some beer... and a guy.

Today the couple, whose homes are separated by about 5,000 miles, are in it to win it, but they have pumped the brakes on marriage. In my latest episode of Five Rings To Rule Them All, both Pancochova and Laree talk passionately with me about their interest in waiting to wed until it is legal to do so in the Czech Republic.

Pancochova also talks about competing on the world stage, including the Olympic Games, being first in the closet and then after coming out. She is, as far as we know, the only professional athlete to ever come out wearing a zebra outfit. And she opens up about the disappointment of her competition in the 2018 Winter Olympics where organizers allowed the competition to move forward despite highly problematic weather conditions.

Check out the latest episode of Five Rings To Rule Them All, with Olympian Sarka Pancochova and her girlfriend, Kaileen Laree, by clicking here or checking it out below.