Love at the finish
On steeplechase records, alternatives to the engagement ring, and a perfectly lovely role reversal at the Olympics
Upon finishing in record time for a European runner and fourth place overall in the 3000-meter steeplechase, French Olympian Alice Finot found her boyfriend, dropped to one knee, and proposed marriage with a symbolic Olympic pin.
■ Predictably, a certain breed of Internet commentator emerged to decry the move as emasculating and unacceptably non-traditional. Where cheers are in order, they have nothing of merit to offer.
■ The Olympics are, at very long last, half-female, as they long ago ought to have been. And just as the sports world has long had some catching-up to do, so does love.
■ Setting the European record was Finot's victory, and she chose to share the moment with the person she loves most. There are those who would object under any circumstances to any marriage proposal performed in front of a crowd, but proposee Bruno Martinez Bargiela, too, is an established competitive athlete, so it wasn't out of line for their relationship.
■ As for the charge of emasculation, he's had nine years to decide if the relationship is right for him (and to get out if it's not). So has she. We, as onlookers, should be much happier to live in a world where a woman feels free to propose marriage than one in which she has no right to decline an arranged or forced marriage. What people do freely and voluntarily should be theirs to choose.
■ It's a feel-good moment among many at the Olympics, and anyone looking in ought to be happy to cheer them on. If love is love, and if everyone has a right to it, then proposals should be for everyone, too.
