Husband and wife claim Olympic medals within minutes of each other

Surrounded by snow and ice in Sochi, a husband and wife won Olympic medals within just minutes of each other in a heart-warming tale.

Vic Wild claimed gold for his adopted country Russia in the men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom final, minutes after seeing his wife Alena Zavarzina scoop a bronze medal in the women’s event.

US-born Wild, who became a Russian citizen two years ago, beat Nevin Galmarini in the final at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, with Slovenia’s Zan Kosir completing the podium.

The Washington native switched allegiances from the United States to Russia after marrying Zavarzina two years ago.

“I’m very happy that Vic got gold. This is what he worked for. He’s so far from his hometown, he did an amazing job,” Zavarzina said of her husband, the BBC report.

Wild previously won bronze for Russia at the 2013 World Championships.