WATCH: Italian para-athlete Alessandro Ossola proposes to his girlfriend Arianna in a packed Stade de France at the Paris Paralympics

Italian sprinter Alessandro Ossola has made headlines after proposing to his girlfriend Arianna Mandaradoni following his participation at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. He did so after making an appearance in the Athletics - men’s T63 heats.

Running at the men’s T63 heats, the 36-year-old athlete registered a time of 12.46s but unfortunately couldn’t make it to the finals. This was his second Paralympic Games, having competed for Italy at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics held in 2021. He featured in the same discipline in Tokyo where he advanced to the finals. In the finals, Ossola achieved a credible sixth-place finish.

Recently, in the presence of 40,000 track and field fans at the Stade de France, Ossola bent down on his prosthetic leg to propose to his girlfriend, Mandaradoni, after his heats. According to her Instagram handle bio, she works as an Event and Communication Manager at Bionic People.

As Alessandro Ossola proposed to his partner at the Paris Paralympics, she was in tears watching him make the heartfelt proposal. The duo met in 2019. Mandaradoni has since been a huge pillar of support to the Italian para-athlete throughout his journey.

When asked in an interview about the proposal, Ossola said (via Para Athletics):

“I thought of proposing here a few weeks ago. That’s the side that nobody sees about athletes. I’m coming here as a 36-year-old, thanks to the people that are around, the staff, family, and obviously in my case, my girlfriend who supports me every day.”

Meanwhile, the USA’s Ezra Frech eventually won the gold in the men’s T63, clocking a personal best time of 12.06s, his first-ever medal in the history of the Paralympics. Frech is renowned for being a motivational speaker.

Daniel Wagner and Vinícius Gonçalves Rodrigues won the silver and bronze medals with personal best times of 12.08s and 12.10s.

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How did Alessandro Ossola lose his left leg?

Alessandro Ossola in action at the Paralympics. PHOTO: Getty Images

Alessandro Ossola, once a technical artist who played sports during his leisure period, had a devastating year in 2015. While traveling with his first wife, Federica, they were involved in a tragic accident. The accident had a significant impact with Federica losing her life and Ossola undergoing surgery to amputate his left leg.

In an interview (via Olympics.com), he opened up about the contribution of sports in the revival of his life and said:

“Sport gave me a way to take action and a way out of a very dark period. After my accident, I lost a lot - everything but my smile - but sport pushed me to smile more and more.”

Besides competing in sports, Ossola formed Bionic People, a non-profit organization that works towards changing people’s views about individuals with disabilities. Additionally, he works for an Irish-founded company, Icon PLC.