Chinese diver He Zi had a day to remember, first winning an Olympic medal and then receiving a surprise marriage proposal *during* her podium presentation.
The 25-year-old had won silver in the 3m women’s springboard final on Sunday when her boyfriend and fellow Chinese diver Qin Kai popped the big question during the presentation.
The crowd at Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre was on tenterhooks as a rather large amount of time passed for He to come up with her answer.
What a day for Chinese diver He Zi. A silver medal in the Women's 3m springboard followed by a marriage proposal! https://t.co/BwPpZS8JS8
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 14, 2016
Thankfully, she accepted Qin’s proposal and the pair embraced to a huge ovation.
“This morning, I walked into a room and I found him reciting something,” said He according to the BBC . “I asked him what he was doing and he said he was singing. I just didn’t know that he was practising proposing.
Having someone propose to you during one of the biggest moments of your life is a rather ballsy move.
To some people on social media, Qin Kai’s proposal was inappropriately timed:
let her have her moment, mate. maybe let your girlfriend – who is better than you at diving, btw, the one job you do – have some solo glory.
— Sam Diss (@SamDiss) August 15, 2016
My horror at public proposals reached its peak when He Zi won a silver medal for diving & her boyfriend proposed when she was on the podium.
— Dr Charlotte Lydia Riley (@lottelydia) August 15, 2016
https://twitter.com/marcusjdl/status/764964028632498176
https://twitter.com/hansmollman/status/765117554117472256
But to others, it’s just a lovely romantic gesture and we shouldn’t be annoyed that two people have promised themselves to each other.
https://twitter.com/asaphoon/status/765031796656353280
“He said a lot of things there at the podium”, added the silver medalist. “He made a lot of promises, but the thing that has touched me the most is that I think this is the guy I can trust for the rest of my life.”
Congratulations to them both. Hopefully Qin Kai can work on his timing as he prepares to be a husband.
