Team USA Shotputter Payton Otterdahl Proposes to Girlfriend Maddy Nilles in the ‘City of Love’
Team USA shotputter Payton Otterdahl is engaged.
The Olympian, 28, proposed to his girlfriend, Maddy Nilles, on Sunday, August 4, in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. “Meanwhile, in the City of Love…I love you forever, Maddy Nilles!” he wrote via Instagram.
His sweet post was accompanied by several photos of the happy couple embracing in front of the famous landmark, including a romantic snap of Otterdahl dipping his new fiance while they kissed.
One day before the picturesque proposal, Otterdahl finished fourth in the shot put at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. Team USA still took home two medals, as Ryan Crouser won the gold with a 22.90-meter throw and Joe Kovacs snagged silver. Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell took the bronze.
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Per Team USA, Crouser’s win makes him the first shot putter in Olympic history to win three consecutive gold medals.
“Throwing a 16-pound ball is not easy on the body – throwing it as hard as you can, as far as you can beats you up,” Crouser told reporters after the event on Saturday. “Being the first to win three is a testament to just how much shot does beat you up.
Otterdahl had been in third place after the first round, but he was passed by Campbell and Kovacs. “That’s just the reality of fourth place — it doesn’t feel good,” Otterdahl said afterward, per Team USA. “I’m not pleased with the performance, but it is what it is. I wish we could have made it a sweep we were close, but not close enough.”
The 2024 Olympics has seen its fair share of romance since the Games began in Paris on July 26. Chinese Olympian Huang Ya Qiong bagged both a gold medal and an engagement ring on the same night after she and her on-court partner Zheng Siwei won the badminton mixed doubles final against South Korea.
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Shortly after the win, Huang’s boyfriend and fellow Olympian, men’s doubles player Liu Yuchen, surprised her with flowers and a ring.
“I cannot describe the feeling I have because I am happy, happy, happy,” Huang gushed, per the Olympics website. “Getting the gold medal is recognition of our journey. I was surprised by the engagement ring. I’ve been focusing on training to become an Olympic champion. I never expected it. I haven’t thought about how we will celebrate.”
Some athletes will be leaving Paris with one less ring than they came with. Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi apologized to his wife via Instagram after he lost his wedding ring in the River Seine during the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
“I’m sorry my love, I’m so sorry,” Tamberi, 32, wrote in his caption.
