Argentinian fencer gets engaged moments after Olympic 2021 loss

Olympics - Fencing - For Argentina's Perez Maurice, an Olympic loss and marriage proposal
Argentinian fencer Maria Belen Perez Maurice hugs her coach of 17 years, Lucas Guillermo Saucedo, after he proposed
REUTERS
Leah Sinclair27 July 2021

Argentinian fencer Maria Belen Perez Maurice got engaged to her partner moments after she was knocked out of the Tokyo Olympics on Monday.

Ms Perez Maurice suffered a 15-12 loss to Hungary’s Anna Marton at the Makuhari Messe Hall but moments after, during a post-match interview, her coach and partner of 17 years, Lucas Guillermo Saucedo, flashed a handwritten sign that read "Will you marry me? Please".

It was the second proposal by the fencer’s coach after his 2010 proposal was rebuffed.

Footage shared online shows Ms Perez Maurice turning around, seeing the message, and screaming before accepting the marriage proposal from her partner who had gone down on one knee. The pair embraced and shared a kiss.

“They [the interviewer] told me to turn around, and he had the letter. I forgot everything. I was like: ‘Oh my God,’” she said.

“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. We are going to celebrate in Buenos Aires with a big barbecue.”

She added that they had discussed marriage before but she was still surprised by the proposal. “We were talking about this [getting married], but I didn’t know.”

Mr Saucedo said he decided to propose again on Monday morning and asked an Olympic volunteer at the venue for a sheet of paper to write his proposal.

The volunteer first refused but agreed after Mr Saucedo offered to trade him an Olympic pin for the paper.

“I love her, and when she lost the match she got very sad, so maybe this proposal should change her mentality,” he said.

“I wrote on the paper in the moment. If she had won, no, I would have waited for the moment.”

Additional reporting by Reuters

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