The secret is out.
After keeping their relationship completely under wraps for more than eight years, Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke has announced her engagement to fellow Olympic athlete Alex Beck.
Jenneke and Beck shared the news in a joint post on Instagram with the caption “8.5 years in the making” along with love heart and engagement ring emojis.
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The post includes two snaps of the happy couple in a loving embrace and of Jenneke showing off her sparkling engagement ring in a forest setting.
Fellow athletes were quick to offer their congratulations on social media.
Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman wrote, “Yayyyyyyyy congratulations,” with two heart-eyes emojis.
Nicola Olyslagers, Australia’s high jump world champion, commented, “Yessss congratulations to you both!!
Jenneke became famous after her warmup routine went viral in 2012. While waiting at the starting blocks during pre-race introductions, Jenneke was spotted jumping up and down while moving her hips side to side with a big smile on her face.
Fans online ate it up and it led to several modeling opportunities for the Aussie, including an appearance in the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Jenneke, 32, is a two-time Olympian, having competed at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2024 Games in Paris, which ended in disaster as she suffered a ruptured a hamstring tendon during her heat, causing her to hit a hurdle and fall.
Olympic results
She has since recovered from the injury and has returned to competition, missing out on qualifying for the 2025 world championships by just 0.08 earlier this year.
Jenneke also had been competing in the long jump event and just last week set a personal best.
“Side quest achieved!” Jenneke posted on Instagram. “Set myself a preseason goal of breaking the 6m barrier and last night I did it in style with a big pb of 6.32m!!!
“Huge thanks to my super coach Bron for humoring me and showing me the ropes, I promise I’ll remember I’m a hurdler now haha.”
She still currently holds the second-fastest time in the 100-metre hurdles in Australian history.
Beck is a four-time Australian national champion and represented the country at the Tokyo Summer Games. He ran a personal best of 45.54 to finish sixth in his heat in the men’s 400 metres and just missing out on the semifinals.
He also has raced at the World Athletics Championships, Commonwealth Games and the Oceania Athletics Championships.