I’d walk a long way for love! Two Slovak race walkers get engaged at the finish line in a sweet moment after competing in a 35km event at the World Championships in Budapest
- Hana Burzalova finished the 35 km race walk to find Dominik Cerny on one knee
- Cerny herself had just competed over an identical distance in the men’s event
- She said yes to his proposal and the pair celebrated with a kiss on the finish line
Love was in the air at the World Athletics Championships when two Slovak race walkers got engaged at the finish line.
Hana Burzalova was just crossing the finish line at the end of Thursday’s 35km race walk in Budapest when she spotted her boyfriend Dominik Cerny – who had just completed the same distance in the men’s – on one knee.
Fortunately, after her efforts in the race, Burzalova had enough breath left to say ‘yes’ to her partner’s proposal, while Cerny celebrated by punching the air.
Burzalova happily showed off her shiny engagement ring to the cameras after the sweet moment.
Cerny, 25, finished 19th in his race, setting a personal best of 2:32.56. His new fiancée, 22, finished 28th in the women’s race, but clocked the season’s best of 3:02.47, meaning there was plenty to celebrate.
Slovak race walkers Dominik Cerny and Hana Burzalova got engaged after competing in their respective 35km race walk events at the World Championships in Budapest
Burzalova said ‘yes’ to Cerny’s proposal at the finish and that was celebrated with a kiss
The newly engaged couple pose for the cameras as Burzalova shows off her ring
The couple were all smiling after their engagement, right after running 35km
The couple regularly shares photos of their life together on their Instagram accounts, including bike rides through the mountains and beach holidays in Cyprus.
On the eve of the race, Cerny posted a photo to Instagram Stories of Burzalova preparing her drinks ahead of Thursday’s race, with the caption “Ouch, here we go again.”
Race walking, another Olympic sport, requires the athletes to keep one foot in contact with the ground at all times while covering great distances, something judged by judges throughout the race.
Penalties will be handed out if the judges find ‘loss of contact’ when both feet come off the ground.
In addition, the knee of the advanced leg should not bend and the leg should straighten as the body passes over it. Again, bent knees can result in punishment.
Fortunately, Cerny’s bent knee led to a happy outcome in this case.
Race distances at the World Championships used to be a maximum of 50km, but last year this was reduced to 35km, including a 20km race.