See All the Proposals at the Paris Summer Olympics So Far

Mar. 15, 2025

(L-R) Payton Otterdahl proposes to Maddy Nilles; Justin Best proposes to Lainey Duncan.Photo:Peyton Otterdahl/Instagram; Today Show

Peyton Otterdahl/Instagram; Today Show

A few athletes are leaving the2024 Summer Olympicswith a different kind of hardware: An engagement ring!

01of 09Alessandro OssolaTasos Katopodis/GettyThe Italian sprinter may not have qualified for his race, but he’s still going home a winner, after his girlfriend Arianna Mandaradoni accepted his proposal shortly after he ran his 100m heat.Ossola was in a 2015 motorcycle accident which killed his wife and resulted in the loss of most of his left leg. He has said the sport helped him regain his purpose in life, and Mandaradoni’s support as he competed became a big part of that.“Sometimes she believed in me more than I believed in myself, and that’s something truly amazing,“he told Olympics.com. “‘You can do it, you can succeed, you can, you can,’ she would say. This is something everyone needs, and I hope that everyone finds someone like her. She is my partner … for life.“He shared a video, captured from the stands, of his proposal.

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Alessandro Ossola

Tasos Katopodis/Getty

The Italian sprinter may not have qualified for his race, but he’s still going home a winner, after his girlfriend Arianna Mandaradoni accepted his proposal shortly after he ran his 100m heat.

Ossola was in a 2015 motorcycle accident which killed his wife and resulted in the loss of most of his left leg. He has said the sport helped him regain his purpose in life, and Mandaradoni’s support as he competed became a big part of that.

“Sometimes she believed in me more than I believed in myself, and that’s something truly amazing,“he told Olympics.com. “‘You can do it, you can succeed, you can, you can,’ she would say. This is something everyone needs, and I hope that everyone finds someone like her. She is my partner … for life.”

He shared a video, captured from the stands, of his proposal.

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Tracy Otto

Paralympics/Tracy Otto/Instagram

Paralympic archer Tracy Otto may not have medaled in her event, but she had a very memorable games nonetheless. Shortly afterher boyfriend Ricky Riessle proposed under the Eiffel Tower at night, she revealed that the two were also expecting their first child together.

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Justin Best

Justin Best proposes to Lainey Duncan live on the ‘Today’ show on Aug. 5, 2024.TODAY/X

TODAY/X

American rower Justin Best doubled up on the wins during his stay at the 2024 Olympics. He brought home Team USA’s first gold in the discipline for the first time in 60 yearsandgot engagedto his girlfriend of nine years, Lainey Duncan.

On Aug. 5, live on theTodayshow, the athlete popped the question to Duncan in the presence of family members holding 2,738 yellow roses — a symbol of every day the two maintained their Snapchat streak throughout the years.

“Lainey is my other half. She is fiercely intelligent, effortlessly beautiful, boundlessly creative, and radiates kindness to everyone she meets,” Best told PEOPLE. “We have gone through everything in our adult lives together and I have seen her grow into an amazing woman and she has guided me into the man I am today.”

“I got the gold and the girl, and she got the diamond,” he quipped onToday.

04of 09Payton OtterdahlPayton Otterdahl proposes to Maddy Nilles on Aug. 4, 2024.Payton otterdahl/instagramU.S. shot putter Payton Otterdahl, who placed fourth in the Aug. 3 shot put competition,proposed to his girlfriend Maddy Nillesin front of the Eiffel Tower the next day. OnInstagram, Otterdahl shared sweet photos of the proposal, presenting the ring to Nilles and dipping her for a romantic kiss.“Meanwhile, in the City of Love… I love you forever, Maddy Nilles! @maddynilles27 ❤️,” the Olympian captioned the post.Reposting her fiancé’s carousel to her Instagram Stories, Nilles — a track and field assistant coach in Nebraska — wrote, “Je vous aime (I LOVE YOU).”

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Payton Otterdahl

Payton Otterdahl proposes to Maddy Nilles on Aug. 4, 2024.Payton otterdahl/instagram

Payton otterdahl/instagram

U.S. shot putter Payton Otterdahl, who placed fourth in the Aug. 3 shot put competition,proposed to his girlfriend Maddy Nillesin front of the Eiffel Tower the next day. OnInstagram, Otterdahl shared sweet photos of the proposal, presenting the ring to Nilles and dipping her for a romantic kiss.

“Meanwhile, in the City of Love… I love you forever, Maddy Nilles! @maddynilles27 ❤️,” the Olympian captioned the post.

Reposting her fiancé’s carousel to her Instagram Stories, Nilles — a track and field assistant coach in Nebraska — wrote, “Je vous aime (I LOVE YOU).”

05of 09Huang Yaqiong and Liu YuchenLiu Yuchen proposes to Huang Yaqiong on Aug. 2, 2024.GettyAfter Huang Yaqiong claimed the gold medal in badminton mixed doubles on Aug. 2, her Olympic teammate had another surprise for her. Men’s doubles player Liu Yuchen gave Huang a bouquet of flowers and got down on one knee to propose in front of the La Chapelle Arena crowd.“For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game,” the athlete told theAssociated Pressthrough an interpreter. “Today I am an Olympic champion and I got proposed [to], so that’s something I didn’t expect.”

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Huang Yaqiong and Liu Yuchen

Liu Yuchen proposes to Huang Yaqiong on Aug. 2, 2024.Getty

Getty

After Huang Yaqiong claimed the gold medal in badminton mixed doubles on Aug. 2, her Olympic teammate had another surprise for her. Men’s doubles player Liu Yuchen gave Huang a bouquet of flowers and got down on one knee to propose in front of the La Chapelle Arena crowd.

“For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game,” the athlete told theAssociated Pressthrough an interpreter. “Today I am an Olympic champion and I got proposed [to], so that’s something I didn’t expect.”

06of 09Pablo Simonet and Maria CampoyPablo Simonet proposes to Maria Campoy.Pablo Simonet/InstagramBefore the first ball even touched the pitch, Argentinian field hockey player Maria Campoy would walk away from the Olympics with at least one prize: an engagement ring from her boyfriend, handball player Pablo Simonet.In a reel posted to Simonet’sInstagram, Team Argentina’s handball and field hockey teams gathered for a group photo, only for Simonet to break off toask Campoy to marry him. Campoy teared up as she embraced her fiancé, with their teammates behind them cheering.“The woman in my life gave me a ‘yes’ 🤩 ❤️,” the handball player wrote in Spanish in the caption of his July 24 post. “In a dream place, where everything came from and where we fought so much to be.”

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Pablo Simonet and Maria Campoy

Pablo Simonet proposes to Maria Campoy.Pablo Simonet/Instagram

Pablo Simonet/Instagram

Before the first ball even touched the pitch, Argentinian field hockey player Maria Campoy would walk away from the Olympics with at least one prize: an engagement ring from her boyfriend, handball player Pablo Simonet.

In a reel posted to Simonet’sInstagram, Team Argentina’s handball and field hockey teams gathered for a group photo, only for Simonet to break off toask Campoy to marry him. Campoy teared up as she embraced her fiancé, with their teammates behind them cheering.

“The woman in my life gave me a ‘yes’ 🤩 ❤️,” the handball player wrote in Spanish in the caption of his July 24 post. “In a dream place, where everything came from and where we fought so much to be.”

07of 09Alice FinotAlice Finot proposes to her boyfriend Bruno Martínez Bargiela on Aug. 6, 2024.Hannah Peters/GettyAlthough French athlete Alice Finot didn’t finish with a medal in the 3000-meter steeplechase, she walked away from the racenewly engaged.After breaking the European record with a time of 8:58.67, she ran over to her boyfriend, Spanish triathlete Bruno Martínez Bargiela, and got down on one knee holding a pin that read, “Love is in Paris.“A surprised Bargiela accepted her proposal, and the two embraced with a stadium full of spectators cheering them on.“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 explained to reporters, according to theDaily 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.”

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Alice Finot

Alice Finot proposes to her boyfriend Bruno Martínez Bargiela on Aug. 6, 2024.Hannah Peters/Getty

Hannah Peters/Getty

Although French athlete Alice Finot didn’t finish with a medal in the 3000-meter steeplechase, she walked away from the racenewly engaged.After breaking the European record with a time of 8:58.67, she ran over to her boyfriend, Spanish triathlete Bruno Martínez Bargiela, and got down on one knee holding a pin that read, “Love is in Paris.”

A surprised Bargiela accepted her proposal, and the two embraced with a stadium full of spectators cheering them on.

“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 explained to reporters, according to theDaily 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.”

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Sarah Steyaert

Sarah Steyaert wins the Olympic bronze medal for women’s skiff on Aug. 2, 2024, in Marseille, France.Phil Walter/Getty

Phil Walter/Getty

“Of course, we had to say yes,” Steyaert said at a press conference after the medal race, showing off her engagement ring. She shares two daughters with her now-fiancé.

09of 09Charlotte PiconCharlotte Picon wins the Olympic bronze medal for women’s skiff on Aug. 2, 2024, in Marseille, France.Phil Walter/GettyPicon, the other half of the French women’s skiff sailing team — dubbed “Mama Team” — also said yes to her boyfriend Jean-Emmanuel Mestre on the Marseille, France, beach.“She plans to retire now,” said Mestre, who has a daughter with Picon. “From sport.”Picon, however, doesn’t know whether the Olympics will be her last day as a professional sailor. First, she wants to circumnavigate the globe on a catamaran — a small, two-hulled boat.

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Charlotte Picon

Charlotte Picon wins the Olympic bronze medal for women’s skiff on Aug. 2, 2024, in Marseille, France.Phil Walter/Getty

Picon, the other half of the French women’s skiff sailing team — dubbed “Mama Team” — also said yes to her boyfriend Jean-Emmanuel Mestre on the Marseille, France, beach.

“She plans to retire now,” said Mestre, who has a daughter with Picon. “From sport.”

Picon, however, doesn’t know whether the Olympics will be her last day as a professional sailor. First, she wants to circumnavigate the globe on a catamaran — a small, two-hulled boat.

source: people.com