The shock. The joy. The heartbreak. The relief.
The Olympics elicit the best kind of tears from athletes all over the world who compete as hard as they can to achieve their dreams.
The Paris Olympics has delivered many emotional moments.
Here are some of the ones to remember.
City of Love
There was no shortages of proposals in the romantic city of Paris.
Rower Justin Best popped the question to his girlfriend on the TODAY Show not long after the men’s rowing four team won gold.
Another proposal you can’t miss is French athlete Alice Finot breaking the European steeplechase record, finishing fourth in the final, and then proposing soon after. Talk about doing it all.
Here are some of the other emotional proposals of the Games:
- Argentina power couple, Pablo Simonet (handball) and Maria Pilar Campoy (field hockey)
- Chinese badminton players Huang Yaqiong and Liu Yuchen
- French skiff sailors Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon, who got engaged at the exact same time
Kara Goucher calling the men’s 10K
Grant Fisher won his first Olympic medal en route to becoming the fourth American man to win a medal in the 10,000m, and just the second in the last 60 years.
In an event in which Americans have not had much success in during recent years, NBC broadcaster and Olympian Kara Goucher was emotional when making the call. She discussed how the moment can be a turning point for American men’s distance running moving forward.
“Lee, this is a huge moment for American distance running,” Goucher says on the broadcast.
Watch the exciting race again here:
SEE MORE: Olympic record, American bronze highlight epic 10,000m final
Sportsmanship at its finest in badminton
Spain’s Carolina Marin, who won gold at the Rio Olympics but missed the Tokyo Games due to injury, was forced to retire from her semifinals match against China’s He Bing Jiao due to an injury.
Marin had already won the first game and was up 10-8 in the second when she tearfully decided that she could not continue.
As a result, He advanced to the gold medal match where she lost to South Korea’s An Se-Young.
In a moving tribute to Marin, He held up a pin of the Spanish Olympic Committee logo on the podium.
SEE MORE: Spain’s Marin honored by China’s He after injury
Scottie Scheffler taking in the moment
Scottie Scheffler has had a year for the ages, becoming the first golfer to win six times on the PGA Tour in a single season since Tiger Woods in 2009.
But the impact of winning gold for Team USA still struck a nerve.
Women’s rugby star Ilona Maher overcome with emotion
Earlier in these Games, Team USA shocked Australia with a last-second try to win the bronze medal, the best-ever finish at an Olympic rugby tournament.
Following the win, Ilona Maher let the impact of the moment wash over her.
“We’re just passing through. And that’s always been my goal is to make this jersey better, not just for me but for the other girls that are going to come into the program. And I want them to dream of being professional rugby players. That’s what I feel like I’m giving them. Even if this is my last rugby game, I hope that there’s space for them to grow and thrive and to experience this because I get to.”
Watch the full emotional video here.
SEE MORE: Ilona Maher rugby player by day, TikTok star at night
Tara Davis-Woodhall’s gold celebration
After finishing sixth in Tokyo, Tara Davis-Woodhall won gold in the women’s long jump in Paris.
She won the United States’ third gold medal in the event in the last four Olympics. No other country has won four golds in the event.
After she won, Davis-Woodhall ran into the arms of her husband, Hunter Woodhall, in an extremely moving moment.
Hunter is a three-time Paralympic medalist and will be competing in his third Paralympic later this month in Paris.
Novak Djokovic achieves golden feat
Earlier in these Games, Novak Djokovic became the fifth player to ever complete the “Golden Slam” – winning all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold in a career – when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final.
Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles in his career, which is the most of any man in history. But the impact of winning gold at the Olympics hit different.
SEE MORE: Tennis champion Novak Djokovic reacts to gold medal win
Julien Alfred gets big win for her small country
Julien Alfred defeated Sha’Carri Richardson to win not only 100m gold, but Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medal.
“Growing up, I used to be on the field struggling, with no shoes, running barefoot, running in my school uniform, running all over the place,” Alfred said after claiming her title. “We barely have the right facilities. The stadium is not fixed. I hope this gold medal will help Saint Lucia build a new stadium, to help the sport grow.”
It’s impossible to not get chills seeing the country’s reaction.
SEE MORE: Hear Saint Lucia’s call of Julien Alfred gold in 100m
Emma Hayes: “I love America. It made me.”
Fresh off leading the U.S. women’s soccer team to a gold medal victory against Brazil, coach Emma Hayes was emotional when speaking with Mike Tirico about what America means to her.
Just 70 days separated Hayes from when she coached her first match with the U.S. and when she won a gold medal. She is undefeated in the first 10 games and the fastest USWNT coach to win a world title.
A better-late-than-never ceremony
One particular moment outside of summer Olympic competition — but still in Paris — made us emotional.
More than two years after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, nine U.S. figure skaters finally received their medals.
In Beijing, the Russian Olympic Committee finished first in the figure skating team event, with the U.S. finishing in second. However, there was no medal ceremony after the information came to light that Russia’s Kamia Valiyeva tested positive for a banned substance prior to the Winter Olympics.
More than two years later on July 25th after a series of hearings and appeals, the U.S. figure skating team was officially confirmed as Olympic champions.
Evan Bates, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Madison Chock, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou had the chance to celebrate their efforts together in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
SEE MORE: For Madison Hubbell, U.S. figure skating team’s gold medal journey ‘finally complete’
SEE MORE: 2022 U.S. figure skating team reflects on receiving gold
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