- JEFF & TIFFANY PORTER
Love found Tiffany and Jeff at the University of Michigan where they both schooled and competed for the Wolverines. According to runjumpandthrow.com, Tiffany’s former coach James Henry said she used to be unimpressed with Jeff in training: “She would say ‘I hate that guy, he’s so loud and obnoxious,’ and I’d say, ‘Tiffany, you’re going to marry that guy.’ And that would make her even angrier.”
She ended up going out with Jeff and the pair got married in 2011. Incidentally, both athletes compete in the 100m Hurdles and 110 Hurdles respectively, but that’s as far as the similarities go. The couple will be representing different countries just as they did at London 2012. Though born and raised in the US, Tiffany competes internationally for Great Britain (her mum is British), while Jeff runs for the US.
The couple qualified for their respective events ahead of the Olympics, with each being focused on their own race: “We try to keep everybody grounded. We try to keep everyone focused on what we have to do and of course we’re going to get to the village, we’re going to enjoy the experience but when we step on the track it’s all business”, Jeff said.
Tiffany enjoys the support of having a fellow athlete as her spouse, saying: “It’s really cool to be honest. He’s my biggest supporter and I’m his biggest supporter. It really helps to have somebody in my career field that understands this crazy lifestyle that us athletes have which I think is invaluable.”
It’s not been easy competing for two different teams though, which means the couple spends a lot of time apart. “It’s difficult. I don’t really like when Tiffany’s away from home for so long. I don’t really like being away from her for so long, but these are kind of sacrifices that we have to make especially when she is competing for the British team and I’m competing for the USA”, Jeff said.
