Our favourite couple moments from the recently-concluded Paris Olympics 2024

The Paris 2024 Olympics was more than just a celebration of sportsmanship. The 2024 games featured some truly adorable couple moments that won our hearts, after all, what else can you expect when the tournament takes place in the city of love? The city and its architectural wonders played the best backdrops for some memorable moments—from proposals to bear hugs—and here are some of the athletes who won both medals and hearts.

Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall

Theirs is a romance that has stood the test of time. The couple started dating in 2017 after running into each other at their high school track meet. One slid into the others’ DMs and the rest is history. The duo tied the knot in October 2022 and have gone on to dominate the Olympics—Tara in the long jump—and the Paralympics where Hunter won bronze in Tokyo in the 400m. This year, Tara bagged a gold in long jump and rushed to celebrate it with the one person she cherishes the most. We can’t wait to see Hunter’s performance in the upcoming Paralympic Games taking place at the end of this month

Huang Ya Qiong and Li Yuchen

August 2, 2024 is a date Chinese badminton player Huang Ya Qiong will never forget. Not only did the shuttler win gold in Paris, but she also received a proposal from her teammate Li Yuchen. After the three-time world champion accepted her gold medal on the podium, she saw her partner get down on one knee with a bouquet of flowers and pop the question. “For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game,” she said. “Today I am an Olympic champion and I got proposed (to), so that’s something I didn’t expect.”

Pablo Simonet and Pilar Campoy

The first proposal at the Paris Olympics took place much before the tournament began. It was during a group photo of the Argentinian handball and field hockey teams at the July 26 opening ceremony, when handball player Simonet went down on one knee to propose to his longtime girlfriend Campoy, a field hockey player. The couple, who have been together since 2015, shared an emotional embrace as Campoy teared up, with their teammates cheering in the background.

“The woman in my life gave me a ‘yes’ 🤩 ❤️,” Pablo wrote in Spanish in an Instagram post announcing their engagement. “Thank you friends, and few accomplices, for making this special and for being to allow us to have this forever. Paris is always a good idea 💍❤️”

Justin Best and Lainey Duncan

Proposing in front of the Eiffel Tower is a dreamy gesture and that’s exactly what Justin Best, team USA rower, did for his high school sweetheart, Lainey Duncan on August 5. He also included 2,738 yellow flowers, representing the numbers of days they kept their Snapchat streak alive, that is every day for seven-and-a-half years in case you were wondering. The proposal aired lived on the TODAY show a few days after Best won gold in coxless men’s four rowing. “I got the gold and the girl, and she got the diamond,” said Best after the proposal. 

Payton Otterdahl and Maddy Niles

USA shot putter Payton Otterdahl, who finished fourth in the competition, proposed to his girlfriend Maddy Nilles in front of the Eiffel Tower the next day. He shared a couple of images on his social media, with the caption, “Meanwhile, in the City of Love... I love you forever, Maddy Nilles! @maddynilles27 ❤️.” Reposting her fiancé’s carousel to her Instagram Stories, Nilles, a track and field assistant coach in Nebraska, wrote, “Je vous aime (I LOVE YOU).”

Kateřina Siniaková and Tomáš Macháč

It wasn’t just the couples who won hearts and medals at the games. Ex-lovers Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac from Team Czechia recently broke up after dating for four years. However, the duo put their history behind them to compete and win gold at the tennis mixed doubles final. They celebrated their win with a passionate smooch that sent the crowd and social media into a frenzy. “That’s our personal life, so you don’t need to know that,” Siniakova told a reporter who asked if they are “still together,” per the Associated Press. “We like when you are confused.” Machac agreed, referring to their relationship status as “top secret.”

Alice Finot and Bruno Martínez Bargiela

While French Runner Alice Finot did not win a medal at the 2024 Olympics, she did manage to break the European record in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final with a time of 8:58.67. Celebrating her record-breaking feat, Finot ran towards her boyfriend, Spanish triathlete Bruno Martínez Bargiela, and got down on one knee holding a pin that read ‘Love is in Paris’. 

“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 told reporters post the race. “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.”

Alev Kelter and Kathryn Treder

Alev Kelter proposed to her partner and fellow rugby player Kathryn Treder in Paris after winning bronze with the USA women’s rugby sevens team, the first medal for an American sevens squad. The proposal took place at the steps of the Musée d'Art Moderne, with Kelter kneeling in front of Treder and their loved ones. The video, shared by Olympic skateboarder Heimana Reynolds, shows Kelter’s twin sister Derya pass the ring on to Alev. “I have never done any sort of proposal photography,” he captioned the video on Instagram, “but when @alevkelter told me her plan and asked me if I would like to capture this moment, I felt absolutely honored.” Derya commented on the video saying, “Okay now that I’m done crying can we go back to the CRUCIAL part of this video where I hand off the ring with seamless precision.”

Gianmarco Tamberi and Chiara Bontempi Tamberi

Italian Olympic high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi, who lost his ring in the Seine River during the opening ceremony, sure knew how to make up for his mistake. In a heartfelt gesture, he ended up writing an adorable apology and ode to his wife, Chiara Bontempi Tamberi after the incident. “...I felt (the ring) slip away, I saw it fly … I followed (it) with a glance until I saw (it) bouncing inside the boat,” he wrote on Instagram in Italian alongside a photo of him and Chiara together on their wedding day.

“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 sport evening in the world. If I had to invent an apology, I would never have been this imaginative,” he added. “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 anew.”

Mondo Duplantis and Desiré Inglander

Swedish pole vaulter, Armand Duplantis broke the world record for pole vaulting and earned a gold medal at the games. The 24-year-old celebrated the milestone by running straight to girlfriend Desiré Inglander in the stands and giving her a passionate, teary kiss. Inglander captured the winning moment on video and shared it on Instagram, which showed Duplantis completing his turn before running over to her in the stands. The fashion model wrote, “Forever your biggest fan” over the clip that he later reshared on his Instagram Stories.   

Lead image credit: Getty Images

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