At the Olympic Games, the best athletes in the world compete against each other. And in Paris 2024, the athletes had to contend with tough competition: love.
While some hearts were broken, there was also plenty of romance in the spotlight as the City of Lights transformed into the City of Love.
Here are all the sweet moments and unforgettable love stories that took place:
LOVE STORIES FROM PARIS 2024
Pablo Simonet and Maria Pilar Campoy from Argentina
Argentine handball player Pablo Simonet proposed to his Argentine hockey colleague Maria Pilar Campoy. This is the first marriage proposal in the Olympic Village of Paris for 2024.
Before the opening ceremony, Pablo got down on Maria’s knee and proposed to her. She was shocked and said “yes” while her teammates cheered in the background.
The couple has been together since 2015 and competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. It seems that the City of Lights was the ideal place to take their relationship to the next level.
The Czechs Kateřina Siniaková and Tomáš Macháč
Kateřina Siniaková and Tomáš Macháč are more than just mixed doubles partners – they are ex-partners. The couple had been in a relationship since 2020, but decided to go their separate ways ahead of the 2024 World Championships in Paris.
But all that seemed to be water under the bridge after the pair won gold in the mixed doubles on Friday night and began hugging and kissing to celebrate.
After their victory, in which they defeated 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 and said: “This is our private life, so you don’t need to know. We like it when you are confused.”
Tomáš intervened: “This is top secret.”
Her story has now gone viral and her fans are demanding that a film be made about her journey. We would watch it!
China’s Huang Ya Qiong and Li Yuchen
Chinese badminton player Huang Ya Qiong and his partner Zheng Siwei beat South Koreans Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun 21-8 and 21-11 in the mixed doubles to take home a gold medal.
Huang beamed with joy at her victory and soon received another surprise – an Olympic ring of a different kind. Her partner Li Yuchen, another member of the Chinese badminton team, got down on one knee and proposed to her!
“The proposal is very surprising to me as I have been preparing for the game,” she said through an interpreter.
“Today I am an Olympic champion and I have been proposed to, which I did not expect.”
Justin Best and Lainey Duncan from the USA
American rower Justin Best won the first gold medal in rowing for the US team for the first time in 60 years. And he got the girl, too.
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 Lainey Duncan, with whom he had been together for nine years.
Why then? Well, the enamored sportsman told PEOPLE “Paris is Lainey’s favorite 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 continued, smiling. Today.
Payton Otterdahl and Maddy Nilles from the USA
With the Eiffel Tower in the background, US shot putter Payton Otterdahl got down on his knees to propose to his girlfriend Maddy Nilles. The Olympian finished fourth in the shot put competition on August 3 the day before and seemed to still be on a high.
On Instagram, Payton shared sweet photos of the proposal with the caption, “Meanwhile in the city of love… I love you forever Maddy Nilles! ❤️.”
Maddy later reposted the pictures of her new fiancé on her Instagram stories and wrote: “Je vous aime (I LOVE YOU).”
Australians Noémie Fox and Titouan Dupras
Australian Noémie Fox and her French boyfriend, now a coach, Titouan Dupras usually keep their relationship secret. But all that was over when Noémie won her first gold medal in kayak cross in Paris in 2024.
Both Titouan and her sister Jess Fox jumped into the water to hug her!
Noémie and Titouan have been together for eight years. They started out as a long-distance relationship, with Titouan living in Europe. However, it wasn’t long before a coaching assignment took him to Australia.
Then, as was fitting, he came to coach Noémie before the Games! He was a great source of strength for her when she competed against her sister Jess in the heats of the kayak cross race.
Celebrating her gold medal, Titouan told reporters: “When she came to the venue today, she was incredible and composed and ready to do her best.
“After Jess was eliminated yesterday, she could only dream of going as far as she can to earn a place (…) to show her older sister what she is capable of. And that’s what she showed.”
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis & Desire Inglander
Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis broke his own world record in the pole vault to win a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. To celebrate, he literally ran across the floor of the Olympic Hall to his stunning love, Swedish supermodel Desire Inglander.
Like a scene from a movie, Desire was in tears as Armand took her in his arms and kissed her passionately while the crowd continued to cheer.
Alongside a video post on social media capturing Armand’s moment of victory, Desire wrote: “Forever your biggest fan.” Stop it, we’re not crying, you’re crying!
Frenchwoman Alice Finot and Spanish triathlete Bruno Martínez Bargiela
Alice had just broken the European record in the 3,000-metre steeplechase when she rushed to the stands, fell to her knees and proposed to her lover, Bruno Martínez Bargiela, a Spanish triathlete.
In the heat of the moment, she quickly whipped out one of her Olympic pins and used it as a makeshift ring for the marriage proposal. The crowd went wild.
Bruno beamed from ear to ear and seemed to say an emphatic YES before the couple embraced tenderly.
To make it official, Alice pinned the “ring” to Bruno’s shirt and sealed their engagement with a kiss.
Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi & Chiara Bontempi
High jumper Gianmarco Tamberi was the flag bearer for Italy during the opening ceremony on July 26. A proud moment that was unforgettable in itself became a day he will surely never forget. It was the day his wedding ring fell into the Seine.
For the Olympian, who has been married to his wife Chiara Bontempi for almost two years, this was undoubtedly a devastating moment, as Gianmarco transformed lemons into the sweetest lemonade Paris has ever tasted.
In a joint Instagram post that has since gone viral, he poetically apologized to his wife, writing: “I’m sorry my love, I’m so sorry. Too much water, too many kilos lost in the last few months or maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm for what we were doing. Probably all three things, just the fact that I heard it parading, I saw it flying… I followed her with a glance until I saw her jumping in the boat.
“A glimmer of hope… But unfortunately, the jump was in the wrong direction and as she floated in the air more than a thousand times, I saw her dive into the water as if that was the only place she wanted to be. A few moments that lasted an eternity.
“But if it were to be so, if I were to truly lose that faith, I could not think of a better place. It will remain forever in the riverbed of the City of Love, flown away while I was trying 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 think of an excuse, I would never have been so imaginative.
“I think there is a very poetic side to yesterday’s misdeed, and if you want, we will throw yours into the river too, so that they will stay together forever and we will have another excuse to renew our vows and remarry, as you have always asked.
“I love you my darling ❤️ May it be a blessing to come home with more gold!!! 🙏🇮🇹😡💪🏿🔥”.
Chiara commented: “Only you can make something like this into something romantic 😭😭♥️”.
Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall from the USA
Athletics legend Tara Davis-Woodhall won the gold medal in the women’s long jump final with her impressive leap of 7.10 meters at the Stade de France on August 8.
Overjoyed with her achievement, she ran into the arms of her husband Hunter Woodhall and they embraced warmly.
Hunter, a three-time Paralympic medalist from the USA, wrote a beautiful message to his wife before her gold medal jump.
“Tomorrow you will fight for the Olympic title. You make me so proud. You have been through so much just to give yourself a chance. You have inspired so many with your authenticity. You have shown that it is okay to fight, that it is okay to not always be okay. Despite everything, you continued to fight for your dream.
“Nobody worked harder. No one was more disciplined. You inspire me every day to do great things. Tomorrow is your moment. Enjoy every moment of it. You are ready ❤️,” he wrote alongside a carousel of images on social media.
