Olympics 2024: Alice Finot proposes to boyfriend after Paris Olympics steeplechase

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 06: Alice Finot of Team France applauds fans after competing in the Women's 3000m Steeplechase final on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

French runner Alice Finot celebrated her fourth-place finish in the Paris Olympics women’s 3000m steeplechase by proposing to her boyfriend after the race.

Finot completed the race with a time of 8m58.67s, finishing behind medalists Winfred Yavi of Bahrain (gold), Peruth Chemutai of Uganda (silver) and Faith Cherotich of Kenya (bronze) and becoming one of four women to break the nine-minute mark for the first time.

But instead of a ring, Finot used an Olympic pin she wore during the race to propose to Bruno Martínez Bargiela, a Spanish triathlete.

The crowd at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis cheered as the couple embraced.

“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, according to the Daily Mail.

Alice Finot smashed a record and then went and proposed to her boyfriend, much to the delight of the Paris crowd. Photo / Hannah Peters / Getty Images

“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.”

Finot’s proposal adds to the growing list of engagements at the Games.

Huang Ya Qiong, a Chinese badminton player, was surprised with a diamond ring from her boyfriend, Liu Yu Chen, after winning a gold medal in the mixed doubles final.

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 event.

The trend of Olympic proposals even started before the games began, as 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.

Hear it as it happens with live commentary of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on GOLD SPORT & iHeartRadio, plus comprehensive coverage on Newstalk ZB.