VERMILLION, SOUTH DAKOTA: The golden boy of American pole vaulting, Chris Nilsen is going to attend the World Athletics Championships 2023 in August. With a steller record for being the silver medal winner in the Olympics 2020, he is one of the athletes to watch out for in the World Athletics Championships that will be taking place at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary from August 19.
The 25-year-old pole vaulter is a child prodigy who started training under Olympian coach Derek Miles in South Dakota in 2016. Since then he has carved his name in pole vaulting and became six-time champion in NCAA Division I First Team All-American, and a three-time NCAA Track and field Pole vault champion. While the decorated Olympian remains a star to watch out for on the field, his love life hasn't suffered because of his demanding career.
Who is Chris Nilsen dating?
While the star pole-vaulter Nilsen was married before with his childhood sweetheart Kelly Vogel-Nilsen, the pair separated in 2019. Since December 2019, Nilsen is in a relationship with Breanna Swee. Breanna graduated from San Diego State University in 2021. She is of Spanish origin and has traveled the world a lot, including places like Italy, Austria, Vatican City, and Costa Rica, per Sports Lumo. Nilsen can be seen posting photos of her running or exercising on social media.
Nilsen proposed to Breanna on October 25, 2022, and the couple has set their wedding day as September 22, 2023. The ceremony is expected to take place at the Laurel Ridge Barn, near Sioux Falls in the United States. They have a website dedicated to their upcoming nuptials.
Chris Nilsen divorced Kelly Vogel in 2019
Nilsen was earlier married to his high school sweetheart Kelly Vogel. The pair started dating when Nilsen was just 16 and Vogel 17. Both being Kansas natives, the pair moved to South Dakota for Nilsen’s career. When Nilsen was in his sophomore year, the pair had a son, Roman. The pair could be heard gushing about their love story several times prior to their divorce in 2019.
Earlier, Nilsen has thanked his family for balancing his life amidst the grueling training sessions of pole vaulting. He said in an interview published by CBS in May 2019, "A lot of collegiate pole vaulters just do school and pole vault. I get to go home and Roman's not going to care what I jumped, [wife, Kelly]'s not going to care what I jumped. They're going to support me no matter what. It's nice to get out of the pole vault mindset, and just go home and be a father and a husband." Referring to Vogel, he then said, "I think with her support and my family's support, and now our son's support, it gets pretty easy to come out here and have fun."
