Slovak couple proposes at the world's 35km walking finish

The finals of the men's and women's 35km walking event started at the same time on August 24. After completing the competition, Cerny waited for Burzalova at the finish line of the women's event. When he saw his girlfriend approaching the finish line, Cerny knelt down, raised her ring and proposed.

The 22-year-old female athlete was shocked while pulling the finish line, stopped the racing clock, hugged her boyfriend and agreed. Cerny excitedly punched the air before putting on her wedding ring and kissing her girlfriend. The 26-year-old athlete then carried Burzalova and posed for photos in front of the media.

"What I want to know is did he wear that ring during the competition or hide it somewhere?" the race announcer told the crowd, who were cheering, cheering and congratulating the couple. .

"She agreed," wrote the social networking site of the World Athletics Federation (World Athletics), and posted pictures of this proposal between the Slovak couple. Cerny and Burzalova announced their engagement, showing off the ring on Instagram.

Cerny said a wedding date has not been set, but the two may have something to celebrate before Paris 2024 takes place in the City of Love. "We've been together for almost an Olympic cycle, almost four years, so I thought it was the right time to get married," he said. "There are no wedding plans yet, maybe we just decide two days in advance. We like to do random things."

Before the proposal, the Slovakian couple also achieved impressive results. Cerny finished 19th with a personal best (PB) of 2 hours 32 minutes 56 seconds. Burzalova achieved the best personal stats of 2023 (SB - Season Best) when she finished 28th with 3 hours 2 minutes 47 seconds.

In the men's event, Spanish athlete Alvaro Martin won the gold medal with 2 hours 24 minutes 30 seconds. Before that, he won his first gold medal at Budapest 2023 when he won the men's 20km walking event. Martin is the first athlete to win the 35km and 20km double gold medals, when this content was just launched at Eugene 2022.

Behind Martin is Brian Daniel Pintado of Ecuador with 2 hours 24 minutes 34 seconds, while the bronze medal belongs to Japanese athlete Masatora Kawano with 2 hours 25 minutes 12 seconds.

In the women's event, Spain's Maria Perez won the gold medal with a record of 2 hours 38 minutes 40 seconds. Kimberley Garcia Leon of Peru won the silver medal with 2 hours 40 minutes 52 seconds while the bronze medal belonged to European champion Antigoni Ntrismpioti with 2 hours 44 minutes 40 seconds.