The Surprising Record that Took Place at the Paris Olympics
Plenty of records were broken during the events of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but there was a particular record that was broken outside of athletic competition.
During the Closing Ceremony, President of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet said, “With your help, Paris 2024 has smashed many other records. Record audiences, record attendances, record decibel levels. And, yes, here in Paris we have broken a new record that is very close to our hearts: the most marriage proposals ever at an Olympic Games.”
To be specific, Olympics.com reports that seven wedding proposals took place during the Paris Olympics. Considering Paris is the “City of Love,” this shouldn’t be terribly surprising. With the Summer Games officially in the rearview, let’s take a look at all of the proposals that made headlines.
Justin Best
This proposal was captured live on NBC’s ‘Today.’ Team USA rower and gold medalist Justin Best surprised his longtime girlfriend, Lainey Duncan, by popping the question in front of the Eiffel Tower. The couple was surrounded by their family members, who collectively held 2,738 yellow roses. Each rose symbolized each day they maintained their Snapchat streak. Obviously, Lainey said yes.
Huang Yaqiong and Liu Yuchen
Right after Huang Yaqiong won a gold medal in the badminton mixed doubles event, her fellow teammate on Team China Liu Yuchen proposed. Yaqiong was truly surprised and said yes. She told the Associated Press, “For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game. Today, I am an Olympic champion, and I got proposed (to), so that’s something I didn’t expect.”
Alice Finot
France Track and Field team member Alice Finot broked the European record during the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final with a time of 8:58.67. After the race, she went to the stand where her longtime boyfriend, Spain triathlete Bruno Martinez Bargiela, was cheering her on. She took off an Olympic pin that read “Love is in Paris,” got down on one knee and proposed to Bargiela. (He said yes!) Finot told Olympic.com, “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.”
Payton Otterdahl
Team USA shot putter Payton Otterdahl shared via Instagram that he proposed to his girlfriend, Maddy Nilles, in front of the Eiffel Tower. He captioned the moment, “Meanwhile, in the City of Love…
I love you forever, Maddy Nilles!”
Pablo Simonet and Maria Campoy
Team Argentina had a very special proposal at the start of the Olympic Games. Handball player Pablo Simonet shared on Instagram his proposal to field hockey player Maria Campoy. Simonet captioned the post, “The woman of my life said yes. In the place of my dreams, where everything started and where we fought so hard to be. The happiness is total, thank you friends, and a few accomplices for making this special and being able to keep this forever. Paris is always a good idea.”
Sarah Steyaert and Charlie Picon
Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon, who are skiff sailors for Team France, both got engaged to their respective boyfriends after winning bronze medals. NBC Olympics reported that Steyaert said during a press conference after the medal ceremony, “Our boyfriends said at the beginning of the project that if we won a medal we would be engaged, but mine said ‘Only gold or silver,’ so after the medal race I said, ‘Okay so I will not be engaged.'” However, clearly both boyfriends decided to pop the question anyway. The romantic moment can be seen below.
