Among the many newsworthy moments of the historic Paris 2024 Olympic Games were a grand total of seven wedding proposals with numerous athletes popping the question to their other halves in the city of love. 

It hasn't taken long for the Paralympics to follow suit as Italy's Paralympic sprinter Alessandro Ossola got down on one knee to propose after participating in the Men's 100m T63 heat on Sunday.

After being eliminated in the Men's 100m T63 heat, the 36-year-old quickly put his disappointment behind him making his way over to his partner, Arianna Mandaradoni, who was watching in the crowd and asked her the all-important question. 

Mandaradoni was seen visibility in complete shock before telling Ossola “You're crazy! 'Yes!" The couple then kissed in front of many other cheering spectators at the Stade de France.

“I was unlucky, didn't achieve the final and I was really sad about it. But after three minutes, you know life is strange, I was really happy. I bought the ring and gave it to my friend to bring to me” explained Ossola. “The Paralympics is an amazing contest, an amazing place to do it and she was so beautiful.”

The Italian Paralympic sprinter was in a motorcycle accident in 2015 which tragically claimed the life of his first wife and resulted in him needing to have the majority of his left leg amputated.

He explained how he could “see just darkness” after the accident but found happiness after meeting Mandaradoni in 2019.

“After my accident, I lost a lot. Everything but my smile. Sport pushed me to smile more and more,” he says. “I’ve come full circle now. I started this journey years ago, not only in sports and athletics but also in life.”

“With what I’ve achieved in these last days at the Paris Paralympics, I feel like I’ve closed that circle. Now, I’m ready to start along a new path because my life isn’t over, and I have many things left to do.”

He thanks Mandaradoni for getting him through tough times that followed the accident but also for supporting him.

“Sometimes she believed in me more than I believed in myself, and that’s something truly amazing. 'You can do it, you can succeed, you can, you can", she would say. This is something everyone needs, and I hope that everyone finds someone like her. She is my partner... for life."