From on-screen flames to real-life partners.
Updated Aug 13, 2024China's Huang Yaqiong Gets Engaged Immediately After Winning an Olympic Gold Medal
The badminton champion is leaving Paris as a gold medalist *and* a fiancée.
Photo: LUIS TATO/AFP | Getty Images
For athletes who spend their lives training for the Olympic Games, nothing is better than winning a gold medal—except, maybe, winning gold and then *immediately* getting engaged. Such was the case for China's Huang Yaqiong, a badminton player who secured gold alongside her partner, Zheng Siwei, in the mixed doubles final against South Korea on August 2.
It was a sweet victory for Yaqiong, and one that her partner, Liu Yuchen, understands all too well as a fellow Olympian. (He won a silver medal in the men's badminton doubles competition at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, and also competed this year in Paris too).
Photo: LUIS TATO/AFP | Getty Images
That may have been why he chose that exact moment to pop the question to the three-time world champion. Just minutes after Yaqiong received her gold medal, Chen surprised her by walking up to the podium and getting down on one knee. The Olympic proposal was displayed on the big screen at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena, and elicited thunderous cheers and applause from the crowd.
Yaqiong happily accepted with tears in her eyes. "I cannot describe the feeling I have because I am happy, happy, happy," she later told reporters. "Getting the gold medal is recognition of our journey."
Photo: ARUN SANKAR/AFP | Getty Images
The athlete added that the proposal was completely unexpected. "I was surprised by the engagement ring. I've been focusing on training to become an Olympic champion. I never expected it," she continued. "I haven't thought about how we will celebrate."
FEATURED VIDEO FROM THE KNOT
Huang Yaqiong and Liu Yu Chen's engagement isn't the first Olympic proposal we've seen since the Games began. According to the official Olympics website, Argentinian handball player Pablo Simonet proposed to his girlfriend, Maria Campoy, who plays on Argentina's field hockey team, just before the Opening Ceremony kicked off on July 27. The sweet moment occurred when Simonet got down on one knee after they posed for a group photo with their fellow Argentinian teammates.
Earlier this summer, US swimmer Lilly King also got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, James Wells, immediately after finishing one of her qualifying trials. "I think I'm far too logical for my own good," King told The Knot in an exclusive interview after the proposal. "So I was like, 'Why are you down here? And why are you wearing your nice clothes?' After that, I figured out what was going on."
