Jason Kelce recently faced off in a spirited arm-wrestling match against Olympian Nicole Heavirland during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The retired NFL star, 36, took on the challenge from the Team USA rugby player, 29, while attending the Games. Heavirland shared a video of the event on Instagram on Sunday, July 28, capturing the excitement as her teammates cheered her on against Kelce.
Despite her teammates’ encouragement, Heavirland ultimately lost to Kelce after a fierce contest. Both athletes shared smiles and a friendly handshake afterward, though Heavirland couldn’t resist a playful jab at Kelce. “@jason.kelce holding on to that table a little bit? ?,” she captioned the clip. Kelce humorously responded in the comments, “Holding onto something with your off hand is completely within the rules of the International Federation of Arm Wrestling.”
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Joining the fun, Kelce’s wife, Kylie, added a cheeky comment, “I tried to warn you!” Team USA’s official Instagram account expressed their astonishment at the content, while another user suggested, “Jason Kelce to suit up for @usarugby next season, who says no? ?.”
Heavirland sported her Team USA gear for the match, while Kelce embraced the patriotic spirit, donning American flag shorts and a navy beret. Kelce has been seen wearing his French hat at multiple Olympic events, including the U.S. women’s rugby team’s first two matches. The team started their Olympics journey with victories against Japan and Brazil on Sunday and were set to face the host country, France, on Monday, July 29.
USA Rugby’s official Instagram page shared a picture of Jason and Kylie at Sunday’s game, captioned, “Just a bunch of Eagles ?.” After the match, player Ilona Maher humorously recruited Kelce as the team’s No. 1 celebrity fan in a sweet Instagram video. “Women’s water polo has Flava Flav as their super fan. And you are a girl dad,” Maher, 27, explained, clarifying that the role would come with no perks other than the honor. “But if you just wanna be our super fan, you can just even say, ‘I’m a fan.’”
Looking into the camera, Kelce declared, “I am officially a fan of women’s rugby, Olympics.” Maher celebrated with her teammates, exclaiming, “We got Jason Kelce!”
In an interview with the Associated Press published on Saturday, July 27, Kelce shared that he and Kylie eagerly seized the opportunity to attend the Olympics. They also showed their support for Team USA in field hockey. “We love sports, we love competition, we love world events,” Kelce said. “This is such a unique place where the entire world gets to come together and bond over competition and sports.”
Kylie added that attending the Olympics had always been a dream of hers, and she was thrilled to be there with her husband. “We are happy to be here,” she shared, capturing the sentiment of their experience at this global celebration of sports and unity.
