French Steeplechaser Alice Finot Proposes To Boyfriend After Breaking European Record

French Olympian Alice Finot might not have earned a spot on the podium during the women's 3000-meter steeplechase, but she did win in the love category ... 'cause she dropped to one knee and proposed to her boyfriend -- and he said yes!!!

The wholesome moment happened after Tuesday's final ... when Finot approached her man, peeled back her race tag -- which had a bag attached to it -- and pulled out an Olympic pin in lieu of a traditional ring.

Her BF -- Bruno Martínez Bargiela -- was understandably emotional about it all ... and once he was able to get it together, he gladly accepted the proposal and embraced his bride-to-be.

On top of the proposal ... Finot's finish of 8:58.67 earned her the European record -- beating out the previous time of 8:58.81, held by Russia's Gulnara Samitova-Galkina.

There was a chance Finot would not have gone through with the proposal -- as she told a local outlet if she finished above nine minutes, the pin would not have seen the light of day!!!

"I told myself that if I ran under nine minutes, knowing that nine is my lucky number and that we’ve been together for nine years, then I would propose," Finot said. "I don’t like doing things like everyone else. Since he hadn’t done it yet, I told myself that maybe it was up to me to do it. So, I gave a pin that I ran with to my boyfriend. On it, it says: 'Love is in Paris.'"

Love is certainly in the air at the Paris Games ... 'cause this is just one of several proposals to go down during the international competition.