French Olympian Alice Finot Proposes to Longtime Boyfriend After Breaking a Steeplechase Record

French Olympian Alice Finot proposed to boyfriend Bruno Martinez after breaking the European steeplechase record during the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday, August 7.

Finot, 33, could be seen pulling a pin off her uniform for a makeshift proposal in the viral video clip. Martinez, an engineer and triathlete, was visibly shocked when she got down on one knee. Once Finot got off the ground, the two shared a sweet kiss.

Finot affixed her pin to Martinez’s shirt as he shook his head and smiled.

It’s unclear what was said, but the crowd still cheered for their display of love. The pin, Finot later explained, read “Love is in Paris."

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While Finot finished the 3,000m steeplechase in fourth place she broke the European record with a personal best time of 8:58.67. The time held some significance for Finot, who shared that it pushed her to go-ahead with the proposal.

“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 told a group of reporters afterward. "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 added: “I really had a blast, I managed to express myself. It was just a tiny bit [that was] missing to get a medal, I’m sorry. But I don’t regret anything.”

Finot isn’t the first athlete to feel the love during the 2024 Olympic Games. However, she is the first women to get down on one knee for her male partner.

American rower Justin Best got down on one knee after winning a gold medal the men’s four rowing competition — alongside Nick Mead , Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan — earlier this month.

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“She’s been a part of the story since day one,” Best shared withToday on Monday, August 5. When Best put his medal in his pocket, he proposed.

“You are the love of my life. You have been with me since day one,” he gushed. “I knew you were special the moment I said — it was the first date — I said to you, I wanted to go to the Olympics, and you without question said, ‘Yeah, absolutely. Go for it.’ You are stunningly beautiful, ferociously intelligent, your kindness is leaps and bounds.”

Best continued: “I don’t know anyone that doesn’t love you. This is gonna be the easiest question of my life. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and raise a family together. Lainey, will you marry me?”

Of course, she said yes.