Olympics: Argentine fencer loses match but gains fiancé after live TV proposal

Tokyo, Japan - Only one day after German Olympic soccer player Max Kruse proposed to his girlfriend on live television, a member of the Argentine fencing team followed suit with his own big move!

María Belén Pérez Maurice (36) is over the moon! She is going to marry her partner in crime, Lucas Guillermo Saucedo.
María Belén Pérez Maurice (36) is over the moon! She is going to marry her partner in crime, Lucas Guillermo Saucedo.  © instagram/screenshot/belenperezmaurice

Argentina's María Belén Pérez Maurice suffered defeat in the women's sabre in Tokyo on Monday, but that disappointment was quickly forgotten when her partner and coach Lucas Guillermo Saucedo surprised her with a very special question.

While Pérez was talking to reporters, analyzing her loss, Saucedo appeared behind her with a handwritten note in his hands that read, "Will you marry me??? Please."

Pérez couldn't believe her eyes and screamed in delight as she fell into his arms and said yes.

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"[The interviewer] told me to turn around, and he had the letter. I forgot everything. I was like: 'Oh my God,'" the athlete recalled the special moment.

"We are very happy. We are very good partners. Of course, we have fights, but we enjoy each other's time. We love each other so much, and we want to spend our lives together."

The couple now plans to celebrate the big day with a BBQ in Buenos Aires.

Saucedo proposed to Perez Maurice a second time

Saucedo is not just Pérez Maurice's fiancé – he's also her coach!
Saucedo is not just Pérez Maurice's fiancé – he's also her coach!  © instagram/screenshot/belenperezmaurice

Saucedo told reporters that he began to think about proposing to his girlfriend the night before, despite the fact that he didn't have a ring.

And so he got some paper and decided to pop the question when Pérez Maurice lost. If she made it through the rounds, he said, he would have waited a little longer.

"I love her, and when she lost the match she got very sad, so maybe this proposal should change her mentality," Saucedo said.

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He also revealed it was his second attempt, after being rebuffed in 2010 because Pérez Maurice thought she was too young at the time.

Cover photo: instagram/screenshot/belenperezmaurice

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