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French Olympian Alice Finot proposes to boyfriend following 3000m Steeplechase

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels08/07/24

ChandlerVessels

alice finot
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Love was in the air for French athlete Alice Finot following her performance in the 3000-meter Steeplechase at the Olympics on Wednesday. After finishing fourth with a personal-best time of eight minutes and 58.67 seconds, she got down on one knee to propose to her boyfriend.

Cameras captured the moment as she pulled out a pin instead of a ring and made the proposal on the biggest stage in her home country. Her boyfriend was overcome with emotion as he accepted, and you can watch video of it below.

Although Finot finished just shy of winning a medal in the event, she still won overall on the day with the big news. She revealed after the race that the time she ran ultimately played a factor in her decision.

“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 said. “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.”

Finot also explained that the pin she used to propose with said “Love is in Paris” on it. The city is considered one of the most romantic in all of the world, so it’s only fitting that it led to this moment.

“He’s the one who always gives me strength and if I managed to get under nine minutes, that meant a lot,” she added.

It was the second proposal to take place at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after Chinese badminton star Huang Ya Qiong was proposed to by her boyfriend after winning gold with partner Zheng Siwei. 

Liu Yuchen – who represents China in the men’s doubles in the sport – was waiting with a bouquet of flowers in the wings for Huang to enjoy her medal ceremony, before her got down on one knee and presented the player with a ring. 

Now Alice Finot will leave the Olympics looking forward to starting a new chapter in her life. The 33-year-old broke the European record with her time as she was making her first appearance in the Olympics.