Sprinter Alessandro Ossola Proposes at 2024 Paris Paralympics After Tragic Accident

Italian Paralympian Alessandro Ossola didn’t finish first in the 100-meter dash, but the sprinter won the hearts of many fans in the stands with his romantic post-race proposal.

After failing to qualify for the final round of the men’s 100m T63 heat on Sept. 1, Ossola walked over to his partner Arianna Mandaradoni and popped the question during the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Per Olympics.com, Mandaradoni accepted the ring, telling her new fiancé, “You’re crazy!” before delivering an official “Yes” and kissing Ossola, 36, from her spot in the front row.

In a Instagram post by the official Paralympics account, the athlete is quoted saying he thought of proposing “a few weeks” earlier. He also thanked his staff, family and Mandaradoni, “who supports me every day.”

Ossola was involved in a 2015 motorcycle accident where he lost part of his left leg. His first wife died in the tragic accident.

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Ossola continued, “She always follows me during my competitions. I met her in Sanremo (Italy) in 2019 during a summer where I just wanted to be relaxed and I was not looking for anything. Life is strange. Sometimes it unbends your journey on an incredible day, even when it seems that things are not working well.”

Speaking to their public engagement inside the Paralympic arena, Ossola admitted he doesn’t always outwardly exhibit his feelings.

“I usually have a shield protecting my emotions, maybe because of all I’ve been through, and it’s one of these rare emotions. This shield broke. I struggled, but it was amazing,” read his quote in the Instagram caption. “I have had moments in my life and this is another wonderful period that I am going to experience. She has shown me that, day by day, over the past five years that we have been together.”

The runner also expressed his love for Mandaradoni in his interview with Olympics.com. Ossola explained the ways she would encourage him in competition: “‘You can do it, you can succeed, you can, you can,’ she would say,” he recalled.

“Sometimes she believed in me more than I believed in myself, and that’s something truly amazing,” Ossola added in the interview. “This is something everyone needs, and I hope that everyone finds someone like her. She is my partner … for life.”