All the romance from Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Argentina handball team’s Pablo Simonet proposed to fellow Argentina Olympian field hockey star Maria Pilar Campoy in what’s being considered the first marriage proposal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Village.

Ahead of the opening ceremony, Pablo got down on one knee and asked Maria to be his wife. Shocked, she said yes as their teammates cheered in the background.

The couple have been together since 2015, and they competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It seems the City of Lights was the ideal place to take their relationship to the next level. 

Kateřina Siniaková and Tomáš Macháč are more than just mixed doubles partners – they’re exes. The couple had been in a relationship since 2020 but decided to part ways in the lead up to Paris 2024.

However, all of that seemed like water under the bridge after the pair won gold in mixed doubles on Friday night and began hugging and kissing each other in celebration.

After their win, where they bested China’s Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen, the two were asked about their relationship status during a press conference. According to the Associated Press, Tomáš rolled his eyes. 

But Kateřina broke her silence, saying: “That’s our personal life, so you don’t need to know that. We like when you are confused.”

Tomáš chimed in: “This is top secret.”

Their story has since gone viral, with fans calling for a movie to be made about their journey. We’d watch it!

China badminton player Huang Ya Qiong and partner Zheng Siwei beat South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun 21-8, 21-11 in mixed doubles to take home a gold.

Beaming from her win, Huang soon got another surprise – a different kind of Olympic ring. Her partner Li Yuchen, another member of China’s badminton team, got down on one knee and proposed!

“For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game,” she said through an interpreter.

“Today I am an Olympic champion and I got proposed (to), so that’s something I didn’t expect.”

American rower Justin Best brought home Team USA’s first gold in rowing for the first time in 60 years. And he also got the girl.

On August 5th, live on the Today show, he got down on one knee in front of a sea of yellow roses to propose to his girlfriend of nine years Lainey Duncan.

Why then? Well, the lovestruck athlete told PEOPLE that, “Paris is Lainey’s favourite city”. And when he found out the Games would be held there, he knew it would be the perfect place to propose. 

“I got the gold and the girl, and she got the diamond,” Justin smiled on Today.

With the Eiffel Tower in the background, U.S. shot putter Payton Otterdahl took to one knee to propose to his girlfriend Maddy Nilles. The Olympian placed fourth in the August 3rd shot put competition the day before, and it seems he was still riding the high.

On Instagram, Payton shared sweet photos of the proposal alongside the caption: “Meanwhile in the City of Love… I love you forever, Maddy Nilles! ❤️”.

Maddy later reposted her new fiancé’s images to her Instagram stories, writing: “Je vous aime (I LOVE YOU).”

Aussie Noémie Fox and her French athlete-turned-coach boyfriend Titouan Dupras usually stay private about their romance. But all that went out the window when Noémie won her first gold medal in kayak cross at Paris 2024.

Both Titouan and her sister Jess Fox jumped into the water to give her a celebratory hug!

Noémie and Titouan have been in a relationship for eight years now. They started out as long-distance lovers, with Titouan based in Europe. However, it wasn’t long before a coaching gig brought him to Australia as well.

Then, in a turn of sweet events, he came onboard as Noémie’s coach ahead of the Games! He was a source of strength as she went head-to-head against her sister Jess in the kayak cross race heats.

Celebrating her gold medal, Titouan told reporters: “Today when she came here to this venue, she was incredible and composed and willing to do the best.

“After seeing Jess getting eliminated yesterday, she could just dream about going as far as she can to deserve a place […] to show her older sister what she’s capable of. And she showed it.”

Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis broke his own world record for pole vaulting at Paris 2024, earning him a gold medal. To celebrate, he literally dashed across the Olympic room floor to his stunning love, Swedish supermodel Desire Inglander.

Like a scene out of a movie, Desire was in tears as Armand wrapped her in his arms and kissed her passionately while the crowd continued to cheer.

Alongside a video post on social media, which captured Armand’s winning moment, Desire wrote: “forever your biggest fan”. Stop, we’re not crying, you’re crying!

Alice just broke the European record for the 3,000m steeplechase event when she rushed over to the stands to drop to one knee and ask her love Bruno Martínez Bargiela, a Spanish triathlete, to marry her.

In the heat of the moment, she whipped out one of her Olympic pins to use as a makeshift ring for the proposal. The crowd went wild.

Bruno broke out in a huge smile and appeared to say an emphatic YES before the couple shared a sweet embrace.

To make it official, Alice pinned the ‘ring’ to Bruno’s shirt and sealed their engagement with a kiss.

High jumper Gianmarco Tamberi served as a flag bearer for Italy during the July 26th opening ceremony. A proud moment that would be memorable on its own became a day he would surely never forget. It’s the day his wedding ring went diving into the Seine.

Undoubtedly a crushing moment for the Olympian who’s been married to his wife Chiara Bontempi for just under two years, Gianmarco went on to turn lemons into the sweetest lemonade Paris has ever tasted.

In a joint Instagram post, which has since gone viral, he apologised to his wife in the most poetic of ways, writing: “I’m sorry my love, I’m so sorry. Too much water, too many kg lost in the past few months or maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing. Probably all three things, just the fact that I heard it parade, I saw it fly…. I followed her with a glance until I saw her bouncing inside the boat.

“A Glimmer of Hope … But unfortunately the bounce was in the wrong direction and floating more than a thousand times in the air I saw her dive into the water like that was the only place she wanted to be. A few moments that lasted an eternity.

“But if it was meant to happen, if I’m really going to lose this faith, I couldn’t imagine a better place. It will stay forever in the riverbed of the city of love, flown away while I tried to carry the Italian tricolor as high as possible during the opening ceremony of the most important sporting event in the world. If I had to invent an apology I would never have been this imaginative.

“I think there might be a huge poetic side to yesterday’s misdeed, and if you want, we’ll throw yours into that river, too, so they’ll be together forever, and we’ll have one more excuse to, like you’ve always asked, renew our vows and get married to new.

“I love you my love ❤️ May it be auspicious to come home with even bigger gold!!! 🙏🇮🇹😡💪🏿🔥”.

Chiara commented: “Only you can turn something similar into something romantic 😭😭♥️”.

Track-and-field legend Tara Davis-Woodhall took home the gold in the women’s long jump final for her impressive 7.10 metre jump at Stade de France on August 8th.

Elated from her accomplishment, she ran into the arms of her husband Hunter Woodhall where they shared the sweetest embrace.

A USA three-time Paralympic medallist, Hunter penned a beautiful message to his wife before her gold-medal jump.

“Tomorrow you contend for the Olympic Title. I’m so humbled by you. You have battled through so much just to give yourself a chance. You’ve inspired so many with your authenticity. Showing it’s okay to struggle, it’s okay to not always be okay. Through everything you continued to fight for your dream.

“No one has worked harder. No one has been more disciplined. You inspire me every day to be great. Tomorrow is your moment. Enjoy every bit of it. You are ready ❤️”, he wrote on social media alongside a carousel of pictures.

Rugby player Alev Kelter went from winning the bronze to getting down on one knee at Paris 2024. After helping to secure Team USA’s women’s rugby team the bronze medal, she proposed to her girlfriend. By her expression, she undoubtedly said an emphatic YES!

The sweet moment was witnessed by Alev’s family who’d flown out to watch her compete. And it was also captured on film for a memory to cherish a lifetime.

On social media, Kathryn wrote a sweet tribute to her “Olympic medalist”, saying:

“I’m so beyond proud of my Olympic medalist and all that she has accomplished ❤️

“Alev, you’ve been grinding, fighting, and putting your head where people don’t want to put their feet. Your hard work, dedication, and perseverance has payed off in the most incredible way. Now, you get to add a bronze olympic medal to the long list of your incredible accomplishments!”

The couple have otherwise kept quiet about their engagement.