French athlete Alice Finot capped off her remarkable Olympic performance on Tuesday evening with a surprise proposal to her boyfriend, who was cheering her on from the stands.
The 33-year-old runner had just finished fourth in the 3000m steeplechase final, narrowly missing out on a medal but setting a new European record with a personal best time of 8:58.67. Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi claimed gold, while Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai took silver and Kenya’s Faith Cherotich earned bronze.
A memory that will last a lifetime for Alice Finot and her husband to be 🫶❤️🥹#paris2024 #olympics pic.twitter.com/BqFRfzWFdq
— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 7, 2024
After her record-breaking run, Finot celebrated by sprinting over to the stands and dropping to one knee in front of her partner, fellow athlete Bruno Martínez Bargiela. Overcome with emotion, Bargiela wiped away a tear before leaning down to embrace her.
“I told myself that if I ran under nine minutes, knowing that nine is my lucky number and we’ve been together for nine years, I would propose,” Finot explained to reporters. “I don’t like following the crowd. Since he hadn’t proposed yet, I thought it might be up to me.”
Instead of a ring, she proposed with a pin that read “love is in Paris.” Finot later confirmed with a smile that he had indeed said “yes.”
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