Cape Verde's Keula Nidreia Pereira Semedo shows off the ring that her guide -- and now fiance -- gave her after proposing to her after their run in the fourth group of the women's 200-meter T11 qualifiers at the National Stadium on Sept. 2, 2021. (Mainichi/Tatsuya Fujii)

       TOKYO -- For a Paralympian from the West African island country of Cape Verde, the 200-meter women's qualifiers left her far from winning a medal, but she did end up with something else: an engagement ring.

       On Sept. 2, the Tokyo Paralympics' 10th day, 32-year-old Keula Nidreia Pereira Semedo came fourth -- last -- at 33.04 in the fourth group of the 200-meter T11 semi-final qualifiers. Shortly after the run, however, she was overcome with happiness when her guide got down on one knee and asked her to marry him, as he slipped a ring on her finger.

       It was a surprise for Pereira Semedo, and she later posted on Instagram that she "had no words" when recalling the moving moment.

       Athletes around the couple clapped as the moment unfolded, and many have congratulated Pereira Semedo on social media.

       (Japanese original by Yuta Kobayashi, Sports News Department)

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