Italy’s Simone Ruffini had a huge day yesterday, battling stomach pain in the first half of the 25k world championship open water race, coming back from behind American Alex Meyer to win the gold, and finally, proposing to his girlfriend and teammate Aurora Ponsele.
Ruffini proposed right on the podium by holding up a homemade sign, and Ponsele accepted.
They plan on marrying after the Olympics in Rio next year.
From Jeff Grace:
Simone Ruffini, who finished seventh at the 2013 World Championships, took the event in a time of 4:53:10.7.
American Alex Meyer had a small lead over both Ruffini and Italian Matteo Furlan with one lap to go. In the end Ruffini had more than Meyer in the final lap beating the American by almost five seconds.
Meyer had a strong last lap considering he was suffering from gastrointestinal issue during the race. He finished in a time of 4:53:15.1.
Furlan, who won a bronze in the 5 km, earned the same colour of medal in the 25 km finishing in a time of 4:54:38.0.
Full results from the 2015 FINA World Championships can be found here.
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Awww, so cute! Congrats!!
Beautiful!