Joe Polo and his wife, Kristin, met as as teenagers, probably “at the local curling club in Bemidji, Minnesota.”
(What is curling? A sport that involves sliding a 42-pound polished granite stone across a sheet of ice toward a circular target. The game originated in Scotland.)
Joe and Kristin started dating as young adults, and married in 2010 — four years after Joe won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. (It was Team USA’s first-ever medal in Olympic curling.)
In April of 2017, they welcomed their first child, a baby girl.
Her name?
Ailsa, after Ailsa Craig — the small, uninhabited Scottish island where the dense granite used to make curling stones is mined. The islet’s name may derive from the Old Irish word ail, meaning “rock.”
The following year, Joe won a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang. (It was Team USA’s first-ever gold medal in Olympic curling.)
Update, Feb. 2005: The Polos have since welcomed a second baby girl, born in August of 2022. Her name? Calla Kays — middle name likely a nod to curling stone manufacturer Kays of Scotland, which retains exclusive rights to harvest granite from Ailsa Craig.
Sources:
- Gelineau, Kristen. “Minnesota curler’s premature daughter defies odds.” MPR News 20 Feb. 2018.
- “USA stun Sweden to win first ever men’s curling gold.” Olympics.com 24 Feb. 2018.
- Joe Polo tweet (29 Aug. 2022)
- Joe Polo – Wikipedia
Image: Adapted from Leaving Ailsa Craig by Mary and Angus Hogg under CC BY-SA 2.0.
