The adage “Behind every successful man there stands a woman,” takes on a whole new meaning in Joe and Ashley Kovacs’ case. That’s because Olympic silver medalist and 2x world champion Joe Kovacs’ wife is also his coach. Born on September 16, 1986, track and field and especially shot put was Ashley Kovacs’ first love. Just like the Olympian, the 37-year-old grew up as a competitive athlete.

In fact, by the time the couple met, Ashley Kovacs had established herself as a successful men’s and women’s shot put coach. Meanwhile, Kovacs had already earned his first world championship gold medal. However, the fact that Joe and Ashley Kovacs met one another well into their careers only made their relationship more unique.

Ashley and Joe Kovacs: Finding success through love

Ashley Kovacs was born in North Canton, Ohio, and started throwing when she was 12. She went on to find success at the national level before recovering her love for coaching. As a young athlete, the thrower earned the All-American title four times. The University of Kentucky won silver at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships. By the time the couple met, she had been an Assistant Coach at the Ohio State University for three years.

Joe Kovacs met his wife and coach in the summer of 2017 and moved to Ohio by fall. Their relationship quickly blossomed through their shared love for throwing. Although, Ashley Kovacs admitted to POPSUGAR in 2019 that she “might like it (throwing),” more than her Olympic silver medalist husband, albeit jocularly.

While the 37-year-old has been coaching Joe Kovacs for over half a decade, coaching wasn’t a part of their early relationship. Coaching became a part of their equation after marriage. Joe and Ashley Kovacs knew they had found the right person for one another within a year of their relationship. The iconic duo got married in November 2018.

“Two years ago I was blessed to Marry the girl of my dreams. Today I get to publicly recognize our anniversary, but honestly, I celebrate every day with her,” Joe Kovacs wrote in his November 10, 2020 Instagram post. However, the husband and wife faced their first challenge within a year of marriage.

During that period, the 35-year-old experimented with long-time coach Art Venegas to master a new technique. However, doing so didn’t bring any success. Instead, repeated disappointments at competitions led Kovacs to contemplate retirement. However, Ashley Kovacs came to the rescue. As an experienced coach, Ashley Kovacs saw that her husband had everything he needed.

The 5x world championships medalist needed the right person to guide him. So Ashley Kovacs decided to coach her husband in 2019. Shortly after starting training under his wife, Kovacs participated in the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha. Joe Kovacs threw a then-personal best of 22.91m to win gold. Since then, the iconic duo has continued to find success, as they will represent Team USA in Paris.

The coach’s efforts in helping her husband realize his Olympic dreams

Before Joe Kovacs started training under his wife, he was nearly ready to give up on throwing. However, Ashley Kovacs didn’t just help her husband rediscover his passion, but got Kovacs to his second Olympics. The 35-year-old placed second in the Tokyo Olympic trials, bested only by fellow American Ryan Crouser. At the Olympics, Crouser got the better of him once again.

However, the husband-wife duo hopes to upgrade to the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. The coach-athlete dynamic of their relationship isn’t what you’d think. While conventional wisdom dictates that Ashley actively teaches her husband things he may not have known, or mastered. Yet, the 37-year-old admitted that their training is more of a collaborative effort.

“I think the misconception of the whole thing is I wake him up out of bed with a whistle every morning like, ‘Drop and give me 20.’ And it’s nothing like that at all.” Ashley Kovacs’ said in the 2019 interview. However, Joe Kovacs has the same level of experience as his wife. “Joe’s been doing this at a high level for a really, really long time.” the Vanderbilt throwing coach admitted.

So, Joe Kovacs’ wife is responsible for honing and refining the talent her husband already possesses. The iconic duo is still in the process of getting better. At this year’s Olympic trials Joe Kovacs thew 22.43m and placed second yet again, behind rival Ryan Crouser. The 31-year-old won the trials, throwing 22.84m. It seems Crouser remains Ashley and Joe Kovacs’ final obstacle to Olympic gold,

However, no matter what happens in Paris, the iconic Kovacs duo will deal with it in their own way. After all, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more unique partnership in all of track and field.