French athlete Alice Finot celebrated breaking the European women’s 3000m steeplechase record in Tuesday’s final by proposing to her boyfriend after the race.
Finot finished fourth with a time of 8:58.67 behind medalists Winfred Yavi of Bahrain, Peruth Chemutai of Uganda and Faith Cherotich of Kenya. It marked the first time four women broke nine minutes.
Finot then went to the stands to hug her boyfriend — triathlete Bruno Martínez Bargiela from Spain — and got down on one knee to propose with an Olympic pin. Bargiela said yes and Finot pinned his shirt.
French athlete Alice Finot broke the European steeplechase record, finishing fourth in the final and proposed after. 🥹 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/BreMAAsq2A
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2024
“I told myself that if I ran under nine minutes, knowing that nine is my lucky number and that we’ve been together for nine years, then I would propose,” Finot told reporters, per the Daily Mail.
“I don’t like doing things like everyone else. Since he hadn’t done it yet, I told myself that maybe it was up to me to do it. So, I gave a pin that I ran with to my boyfriend. On it, it says: Love is in Paris.”
With her proposal, Finot joined a growing list of Olympians getting engaged at the Paris Games.
Last week, China’s Huang Ya Qiong left her badminton mixed doubles final with a gold medal and a diamond ring after her boyfriend, Liu Yu Chen, a Chinese badminton player also competing in Paris, surprised her with flowers and a proposal. Huang said yes.
On Friday, French skiff sailing partners Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon were proposed to by their respective boyfriends after winning bronze in the women’s skiff 49erFX. Their boyfriends promised Steyaert and Picon that they would get engaged if the sailing partners medaled.
U.S. shot putter Payton Otterdahl proposed to his girlfriend, Maddy Nilles, in front of the Eiffel Tower on Sunday, one day after placing fourth in the men’s shot put final. On Monday, U.S. rower Justin Best got engaged to his girlfriend, Lainey Duncan, live on the “Today” show.
The day before the Opening Ceremony, men’s handball player Pablo Simonet proposed to field hockey player Maria Campoy during a photo op for Argentina’s athletes in the Olympic Village.
(Photo: Hannah Peters / Getty Images)