Everyone loves watching a proposal, but not everyone approves when you mix diamonds with Olympic gold.
Viewers have had mixed reactions to athletes who have gotten engaged during the Paris Games. The recent proposal from Chinese singles badminton player Liu Yuchen to badminton mixed doubles gold medalist Huang Yaqiong just after her big win on Friday, for example, drew nearly as many boos online as it did cheers. While some feel that the grand gesture makes Olympians’ big moments even bigger, others say that the proposals steal the spotlight from female athletes in particular.
This year, many others used the international event to cement their love, including French women’s skiff sailors Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon — both of whom clinched the bronze medal before being surprised on shore with proposals — and Argentine handball player Pablo Simonet, who proposed to fellow Team Argentina athlete Maria Campoy, a hockey player, moments before the opening ceremony as their respective squads took a group photo together. Indeed, popping the question at the Games has become somewhat of a trend. A Chinese social media site even jokingly shared a post featuring an added engagement ring column alongside the medal counter.
But proposals done just after a monumental win have drawn some of the most scrutiny from some fans. In Huang’s case, many, including WNBA player Sydney Colson of the Las Vegas Aces, felt that Liu’s gesture in part overshadowed her gold win, which deserved a moment of its own. And many others criticized the moment as an example of “men always wanting to make it about themselves.”
Steyaert and Picon also weren’t spared from similar comments. However, the newly engaged Olympians didn’t seem to mind. Huang was visibly emotional during the proposal, and accepted Liu’s hand in marriage after he nearly screamed, “I’ll love you forever! Will you marry me?” over the roar of the crowd at Porte de La Chapelle Arena. And many social media users came to the couple’s defense, arguing that the proposal took place after the medal ceremony.
“Today I became an Olympic champion and I got engaged. I think the ring fits my finger really well,” she told reporters.
French sailors Steyaert and Picon were given a heads up about the proposal before the Games.
“Our boyfriends said at the beginning of the project that if we won a medal we would be engaged but mine said ‘only gold or silver’, so after the medal race I said, ‘OK, so I will not be engaged,” Steyaert said in a news conference after the medals ceremony, adding that her partner surprised her anyway. “Of course, we had to say yes.”
In years past, Olympic proposals have also set off heated debates. One of the most memorable was at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Chinese diver Qin Kai proposed to fellow diver He Zi during her medal ceremony in which she took home the silver.
“Imagine if it was someone like Michael Phelps receiving a medal and a woman came up and proposed — people would laugh at her,” author Sunny Singh told the BBC. “When men experience success, women are expected to stand aside and cheer from the background.”
He, who appeared to take a beat before accepting the proposal, seemed to be quite pleased with Qin’s grand gesture.
“What touched me the most is that he said he was willing to be bullied by me for life!” He told reporters afterward.
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