Chinese diver says yes to marriage proposal on the Olympic podium

A Chinese diver said yes to some extra jewelry on the Olympic podium. A fellow diving teammate proposed after He Zi won the silver in the 3m springboard.

The Olympics can be both a moment of triumph and of great sorrow. Four years of hard work end very quickly and finishing second on that podium is a moment to celebrate but also to view up at that “other” national anthem played. There is not another opportunity to win that title for four years.

That moment on the podium can be special no matter where an athlete finishes nonetheless. For Chinese silver medalist He Zi, it became even more special.

As she stood on the podium after winning the silver medal in the Diving 3m Springboard, fellow diving team member Qin Kai met her and got down on one knee for a proposal.

Her podium mates , including gold medalist and Chinese Diving Teammate Shi Tingmao, were thrilled to see the marriage proposal. She, of course, said yes.

Zi has had a sterling Olympic career, winning a gold and silver in London at the 2012 games. Her now fiance has five medals, including a bronze in the 3m synchronized dive at the 2016 games.

It was certainly a very special moment at an Olympics that has seen some great husband-and-wife teams.

There has been a lot of talk about the husband-and-wife coach-swimmer team of Katinka Hosszu. The swimmer won four medals in the pool, including three golds as her husband and coach cheered demonstrably from the sidelines at each event.

American decathlete Ashton Eaton has been cheering on his wife, Canadian heptathlete Brianne Theisen Eaton. Eaton cheered hard for his wife during the heptathlon the last two days. That brought with it its own Internet controversy, but the two have been the “it” couple on advertisements. Theisen Eaton finished with the bronze medal.

Who knows, when 2020 comes around in Tokyo, Zi and Kai might be the next “it” couple to watch cheering for each other and bringing home some nice jewelry from the games.

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