- A guide proposed to a visually-impaired Paralympic runner in Tokyo.
- She said yes, before flaunting her ring to the cameras.
- Keula Nidreia Pereira Semedo had just finished fourth in her women's 200 meters T11 heat.
Visually impaired runner Keula Nidreia Pereira Semedo and her guide Manuel Antonio Vaz da Veiga produced one of the most touching moments of the Tokyo Paralympics with a beautiful post-race proposal.
Cape Verde's Semedo had failed to qualify for the women's 200 meters T11 semifinals on Thursday as she finished fourth in her heat despite running a season-best 33.04 seconds.
But her disappointment was soon forgotten when Da Veiga got down on one knee at the finish line and asked her to marry him.
She said yes, prompting her opponents, who all have extremely limited sight, and their respective guides to cheer and clap in celebration.
Semedo then embraced her new fiancee before flaunting her engagement ring to the cameras.
-SABC Sport (@SPORTATSABC) September 2, 2021
The Cape Verde duo's engagement wasn't the first in Tokyo this summer.
Moments after Argentine fencer Maria Belen Perez Maurice was knocked out of the
Lucas Saucedo held up a sign behind Perez Maurice on camera during her post-match interview with the message: "Will you marry me, please?"
-Rústico (@lautarojl) July 26, 2021
It was the second time Saucedo had proposed to Perez Maurice, having been rebuffed in 2010.
This time around, though, she said yes.
"We love each other so much. Now we want to spend our life together," Perez Maurice said. "We were talking about this, but I didn't know."