Chinese diver He Zi had just received a silver medal for the women’s three-metre springboard at the Rio Olympics on Sunday, but that was not the end of gifts as his boyfriend came in at the fantastic time to bring her another ‘award.’
He ended up with another prize when her boyfriend Qin Kai, in front of a global TV audience, went down on one knee to present himself to her in a marriage proposal at Rio.
Luckily for Qin, who himself won bronze in the men’s three-metre synchronised springboard last week, He Zi said yes.
A shocked Zi was brought to tears before eventually saying yes, much to the delight of the packed crowd.
“He said a lot of things, made a lot of promises, but I think the thing that touched me the most is I think this is the guy I can trust for the rest of my life,” said He, proudly displaying her shiny new ring.
“We’ve been dating for six years, but I didn’t expect him to propose today,” she said. “He said a lot of things, made a lot of promises, but I think the thing that touched me the most is I think this is the guy I can trust for the rest of my life.”
He and Qin have been dating since 2010, and whilst being caught off guard, she admitted she nearly rumbled his plan as Qin got in some proposal practice on Sunday morning.
“This morning in his room he was reciting something and I didn’t notice (what it was). I asked him and he said he was singing,” added He, who also won silver in London four years ago. “I didn’t know he was (practicing) the proposal.”
Their proposal is one of the biggest trends on China’s Twitter-like Weibo service with some calling it “sweet and romantic” but others weighing in with more scepticism: “What a way to add pressure to her, having the entire world watch her as she makes such a private and life-changing decision”.
“I just wanted to do my best competition because this would be my last one,” said the 31-year-old Qin. “For me it is like a gold medal to finish behind these two.”
Qin is a three-time Olympian, having won gold in the 3m synchronized diving event in Beijing and London before winning bronze in Rio.
It is the second engagement of Rio 2016 after a volunteer proposed to a Brazilian rugby player on-field after the finals.