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Sport2 min(s) read
Published 10:45 04 Sep 2021 GMT
The guide of a visually impaired sprinter was seen proposing to her on the track after the athlete missed out on a place at the semifinals at the Paralympic Games.
Keula Nidreia Pereira Semedo, 32, finished in fourth place at the T11 200m qualifying heat on Thursday, September 2 - but bowed out of the competition as a newly engaged woman, per CNN.
Just minutes after she lost the race, the Cape Verde native's partner Manuel Antonio Vaz da Veiga - who is also her guide - got down on one knee right on the track and popped the question. And she said yes!
Sharing in the couple's glee, other athletes gathered around them and celebrated the romantic gesture.
"I really have no words. There are so many emotions altogether. Just the fact of being here at the Paralympic Games, I hardly felt my legs actually because I was so nervous," Semedo told reporters, per the outlet.
Semedo, who has been in a relationship with Vaz da Veiga for 11 years, went on to talk further about her partner's unexpected proposal. She revealed that it had been a complete surprise to her - right up until he uttered the words.
Semedo explained: "Now, with the proposal, there are just too many emotions going on right now. I don't have words to explain how I feel at this moment."
She added: "I always had the dream of getting married but we hadn't planned anything so far. We haven't spoken about it and I wasn't expecting it at all."
And it certainly wasn't just Semedo herself who had dreamed of tying the knot, in fact, the bride-to-be's mother also had high hopes that she would one day see her daughter walk down the aisle.
Semedo shared: "I'm not sure if any of my relatives already knew because I did not know. But I am sure our parents will go crazy. They will like it. I am sure my mom will be very happy because she always wanted me to get married."
Meanwhile, her new fiancé revealed that he was set on proposing to Semedo in July, which was when she was officially listed as a competitor for the Tokyo Games.
