From silver medal to engagement ring: Canadian post-Olympic proposal warms hearts
Posted August 4, 2021 8:35 am.
Last Updated August 4, 2021 2:58 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A heartfelt video of Olympian Jennifer Abel’s partner popping the question after she returned home from Tokyo is going viral.
The video, posted to her Instagram account, shows her being greeted by her now-fiancé at the Montreal airport. He is seen getting down on one knee while holding up a ring, triggering an emotional response from the Olympic diver.
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People are heard clapping and cheering after she says yes and is pulled into a hug by David Lemieux, a Canadian professional boxer.
“I said YES to my soulmate,” writes Abel on Instagram, along with the video and a photo of her and her future husband.
The 29-year-old picked up a silver medal alongside Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu in the Synchronized Springboard 3m women’s event at the Tokyo Olympics on July 24.
Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini Beaulieu of Canada compete during the Women’s Synchronized 3m Springboard Final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 25, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
From Quebec, Abel has competed in several Olympics before, winning Bronze in the same synchronized event in London 2012.
She started diving at just five years old, according to her profile on the Team Canada website. She’s said to have followed in her brother’s footsteps, participating in her first regional competition at six.
Abel “broke onto the international scene in 2006 with a 3m bronze medal at the FINA World Junior Championships,” according to Team Canada.
When she was just 16 years old, Abel was the youngest Canadian diver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Her win alongside Émilie Heymans in London four years later was the first medal for Canada at those summer games.
