Katherine "Katie" Koczynski Demong, (born September 16, 1980 in Upper Nyack, New York

Upper Nyack, New York

Upper Nyack is a village in the town of Clarkstown Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the village of Nyack; east of West Nyack; south of Rockland Lake State Park and west of the Hudson River. The population was 1,863 at the 2000 census....

) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 skeleton racer

Skeleton (sport)

Skeleton is a fast winter sliding sport in which an individual person rides a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down, during which athletes experience forces up to 5g. It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding...

 who competed internationally from 2000 until 2005. Koczynski competed on the FIBT World Cup circuit from 2002 through 2005 and placed fourth at a world cup race in Calgary in November 2003. Koczynski competed in three world championships for the United States in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Koczynski failed to qualify for the 2006 US Olympic Team

United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics

The United States Olympic Committee sent 211 athletes to the 2006 Winter Olympics. Chris Witty, a four-time Olympian, who competed in both Summer and Winter games, and won a gold medal in speed skating at the 2002 Games, served as the flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies...

 and retired from international racing to complete her degree at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

. She graduated from Columbia University in May 2007 magna cum laude with a degree in Sociology. Her best finish at the FIBT World Championships

FIBT World Championships

The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...

 was 11th at Nagano in 2003

FIBT World Championships 2003

The FIBT World Championships 2003 took place in Lake Placid, New York, United States , Winterberg, Germany , and Nagano, Japan . Lake Placid hosted the championship event for the eighth time, doing so previously in 1949, 1961, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983, and 1997...

.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

 on February 25, Koczynski's boyfriend, gold medal skier in the Nordic combined Bill Demong

Bill Demong

Bill Demong is an American Nordic combined skier and Olympic gold medalist. Demong is a four-time Olympian competing in Nagano, Salt Lake City, Torino and Vancouver.-Career:...

, proposed to her in front of teammates and coaches at the US team headquarters near Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

. Koczynsk said yes. Koczynski and Demong discussed how this happened on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's Today show the following morning.

On July 11, 2010, Koczynski married Demong in Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

.