Payton Otterdahl will never forget his time in Paris.
The American shot putter got engaged to his girlfriend, Maddy Nilles, proposing next to the Eiffel Tower during the 2024 Olympics.
“Meanwhile, in the City of Love…I love you forever, Maddy Nilles! @maddynilles27 ❤️,” Otterdahl wrote on Instagram with a series of photos.
The photos show Otterdahl, 28, getting down on one knee, the couple kissing and Otterdahl putting a ring on Nilles’ finger.
Nilles reposted the photos of the proposal on her Instagram story.
“Je vous aime (I LOVE YOU),” Nilles wrote.
Nilles, an assistant track and field coach at Nebraska, was a thrower at North Dakota State, where Otterdahl also competed in the shot put.
Otterdahl, 28, just competed in his second Olympic Games, finishing fourth in the men’s shot put final on Saturday with a throw of 22.03 meters after he placed 10th in Tokyo three years ago.
Teammates Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs won gold and silver, respectively, while Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell took bronze.
“Fourth in the world! It stings to have been so close to earning a medal for the USA, but I am proud nonetheless,” Otterdahl, a Rosemount, Minn. native, wrote on Instagram after Saturday’s event. “The furthest Olympic 4th place ever. Congratulations to my fellow competitors. It’s always an honor competing among such great men. Thank you to my friends, family, and coach for the support this year. It means the world to me. The season is not done yet, I still have a handful of competitions at the end of the month. I hope I earn the opportunity to represent the USA again in the future. Until then, the keeps on rolling.”
