French athlete Alice Finot left the Paris Summer Olympics with a new European record in the women’s 3000m steeplechase and a fiancé!

Finot narrowly missed out on a podium finish by clocking 8:58:67, behind winner Winfred Yavi of Bahrain, Peruth Chemutai of Uganda and Faith Cherotich of Kenya.

This, however, did not dampen her spirits as she ran toward her longtime boyfriend, Spanish triathlete Bruno Martinez Bargiela.

Finot, 33, was a first-time Olympian and ensured she would cap off her impressive fete by proposing to Bargiela.

In a grand romantic gesture, she first hugged him before going down on one knee and popping the question!

Well, proposing inside a packed Stade de France takes some guts but her choice of jewellery will stun you.

Finot settled for an Olympic pin and not a ring and instead of placing it on Bargiela’s finger, she pinned it on his shirt before the two shared a kiss. (Folks, please don’t try this at home, or even in a stadium).

Asked about the unique proposal, the athlete confirmed that Bargiela said yes and that she had the plan up her sleeve if she would clock under nine minutes.

“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.

“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,” she continued, as per Daily Mail.

“So, I gave a pin that I ran with to my boyfriend. On it, it says: Love is in Paris.”

Finot added that her boyfriend, now fiancé, had been a constant support system and pumped her up ahead of the race.

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

As for missing out on a medal, Finot said she was happy with her performance and did not have any regrets.

Love is in Paris

Finot is the second athlete to get engaged during the summer games after Chinese mixed doubles badminton star Huang Ya Qiong was proposed to by her boyfriend after winning gold with partner Zheng Siwei. 

Liu Yuchen perfectly timed Huang as she left the podium and went down on one knee. A tearful Huang covered her mouth in shock before accepting the proposal and flaunting the sparkling ring to photographers.

She later said that the proposal caught her by surprise as she was fully focused on the games.

“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,” she said.