Runner Alice Finot proposes to boyfriend after smashing European steeplechase record at 2024 Paris Olympics
Love is in Paris, indeed!
French athlete Alice Finot is not just concluding her 2024 Paris Olympics campaign as a record holder—she’s also doing so as a fiancee.
After breaking the European women's 3000m steeplechase record at the Games on Tuesday, Aug. 6, Finot celebrated her feat with a marriage proposal to her boyfriend, Spanish athlete Bruno Martinez Bargiela. She ran to the love of her life in the audience right after the race, got down on one knee, and popped the question to him with an Olympic pin that says “Love is in Paris.”
Bargiela gave Finot a sweet "yes."
The runner then placed the accessory on Bargiela's shirt, which was followed by a hug and a kiss.
The love-filled moment was shared by the NBC Olympics and Paralympics on X. Some snaps of the proposal also made the rounds on social media.
๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐คฉ
— Jeux Olympiques (@jeuxolympiques) August 7, 2024
Un record d'Europe du 3.000 m steeple et une demande en mariage, une soirée remplie d'émotion pour Alice Finot โจ #Paris2024 | #JeuxOlympiques pic.twitter.com/rfTMy99VYx
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Finot said that she took her Paris 2024 achievement as a sign to finally propose marriage to Bargiela. “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,” she said.
According to her, she has always been someone who dislikes 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,” she said.
“I really had a blast. I managed to express myself,” she added.
The Olympic runner emerged as one of the four athletes who finished the run in under nine minutes for the first time during the 3000m steeplechase final. She landed on the fourth place with a time of 8:58.67—behind Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi, Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai, and Kenya’s Faith Cherotich.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will last until Aug. 11. If you want to witness our local athletes as they strive for the gold, you can watch the games through Cignal TV's free-to-air and pay-per-view television. Digital broadcasts by OneSports, One News, and News5 are likewise available.
There's also a dedicated website for this year's Games. Click this link to see the complete schedule.