Two Canadian Olympic athletes are getting married after announcing their engagement this weekend.
After competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this past summer, silver medalist beach volleyball star Melissa Humana-Paredes has gotten engaged to her boyfriend, Connor Braid, who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as part of Canada’s Rugby Sevens men’s team.
Humana-Paredes announced the engagement on her Instagram on Sunday with a heartwarming message.
“We met in the physio room at the Athletes Village in Australia 7 years ago, and after 6 years of long distance, 2 Olympic Games & his retirement, we decided we would make great part-time live-in roommates.”
They didn’t go abroad for the big moment as the two shared the moment while on Vancouver Island, which is near Braid’s hometown of Victoria.
The two Canadian athletes had an unlikely meeting. They met for the first time during the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which was held in Queensland, Australia. While Humana-Paredes is still fresh in the mind of Canadian sports fans following her Cinderella run alongside partner Brandie Wilkerson to the Olympic final in Paris, Braid has flown under the radar over recent years.
He is not an Olympic medalist like his fiancee as his Canadian team was bounced in the quarterfinals by New Zealand in Tokyo 2020. He officially retired from the sport in 2021 at the age of 31.
Braid will now move into supporting Humana-Paredes’ Olympic career. After the silver medal finish in 2024, the preparation to finish the job at the upcoming LA 2028 Olympics should already be underway.