She might not have reached the podium, but French track and field athlete Alice Finot won hearts at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Despite setting a new European record and finishing just shy of a medal in the 3000-meter steeplechase, Finot had something special in store. After her race on Tuesday, she went over to her partner, Bruno Martínez Bargiela, got down on one knee, and proposed. Instead of the traditional ring, she offered him an Olympic pin she wore during the race. The crowd at Stade de France in Saint-Denis cheered as they embraced.

At 33, Finot completed her race in fourth place with a time of 8:58.67, just 5.91 seconds behind gold medalist Yavi Winfred from Bahrain, who set a new Olympic record with a time of 8:52.76. Finot missed the bronze medal by a mere 3.53 seconds.

Speaking after the race, Finot shared, “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 revealed to the Daily Mail. “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, “So, I gave a pin that I ran with to my boyfriend. On it, it says: ‘Love is in Paris.’ He’s the one who always gives me strength and if I managed to get under nine minutes, that meant a lot.”

In case you were wondering, yes, Martínez Bargiela did say yes!