Canadian Olympic diver Jennifer Abel has got engaged to her longterm partner, pro boxer David Lemieux, following her success at the Tokyo Olympics.
Abel, who won a silver medal in the women’s three-metre synchronised springboard event, was greeted with a proposal by Lemieux as she returned to the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport on Monday, 2 August.
A video, which was posted to Team Canada’s official Twitter account, showed Lemieux kneeling on the airport floor with a ring in his hand.
Abel looked overcome with emotion, hiding her face in her hands and gently nodding as to say “yes”.
Later, Abel, Lemieux and his daughter, Lillyanna, were seen embracing each other as they celebrated the news.
Both Lemieux and Abel have confirmed the news of their engagement on their Instagram accounts.
Sharing a photograph of the couple, Lemieux wrote: “Proud to call you my woman, what better way to seal the deal then with a [ring emoji].”
“I said YES to my soulmate,” Abel wrote under her post.
Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM), which manages Lemieux’s career, posted about the engagement on its Facebook page.
Ahead of the proposal, Lemieux told EOTTM that he had been thinking about proposing for a “long time” but wanted to wait for the right moment.
“It was important to me that she complete her Olympic mission before [I] made the big request. I am extremely proud of her and everything she has accomplished despite the complications for all the athletes generated by this global pandemic,” he said.
The boxer said he had been tracking Abel’s performances throughout the Olympics and had chosen to welcome her back with a proposal in front of all of their loved ones.
“I couldn’t have hoped better than this for her...I’m happy to take another milestone with her “ he said.
Abel won silver in the three-metre synchronized springboard event with her teammate, Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu, on 25 July.
“I’m satisfied to come back with a silver medal even though I would also have liked to get one individually,” she told EOTTM.
“During the competition, I didn’t feel people weren’t there with me since my loved ones and David were following me at all times.
“I’m ready too to move on to a new chapter in my life with David “, she said.
