An Argentinian fencer lost her match but won a proposal of marriage

By Toyin Owoseje, CNN

Argentinian fencer Maria Belen Perez Maurice may have lost the chance of a medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, but she is definitely still winning at life.

The 36-year-old will leave the Games with a ring, after accepting a surprise marriage proposal from her coach and partner.

Perez Maurice was in the middle of her post-match interview, following her 15-12 loss to Hungary’s Anna Marton in the women’s saber individual, when Lucas Guillermo Saucedo popped the question with a large handwritten note that said “Do you want to marry me?” in Spanish.

Footage shared online of the moment shows her turn around, see the message, and scream before promptly accepting the marriage proposal from her partner of 17 years, who had gone down on one knee. The pair embraced and shared a kiss.

“They (the press) told me to turn around, and he had the letter. I forgot everything. I was like, ‘oh my god,'” Perez Maurice told reporters.

“We are very happy. We are very good partners. Of course, we have fights, but we enjoy each other’s time. We love each other so much, and we want to spend our lives together.”

Perez Maurice — who won gold at the 2014 Pan American Championships and competed at London 2012 and Rio 2016 — said the couple intended to celebrate their engagement in “Buenos Aires with a big barbecue.”

Saucedo revealed he had previously asked for Perez Maurice’s hand in marriage in Paris after the 2010 World Fencing Championships, but she declined, saying at the time: “I am young.”

He said: “I love her, and when she lost the match (to Marton) she got very sad, so maybe this proposal should change her mentality. I wrote on the paper in the moment. If she had won, no, I would have waited for the moment.”

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