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Australian track star Michelle Jenneke was one of the first athletes to truly have a viral moment in the age of social media.
Jenneke’s pre-race routine caught the attention of sports fans across the globe during the 2012 IAAF World Championships. The viral moment helped raise her profile and land her in the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
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Michelle Jenneke of Australia reacts as she is introduced to the crowd before the start of the women’s 100m hurdles heat five during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Center on August 22, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
She has mostly kept her private life out of the reach of internet vultures, and has only really posted clips and pictures of herself when she is training or participating in competitions. That was until Sunday, when she revealed that she was engaged after an 8 1/2-year relationship that no one outside of their families and loved ones was privy to.
“8.5 years in the making,” she captioned her collage of photos on Instagram.
Jenneke became engaged to Alex Beck, another Australian Olympic track athlete. Beck has also kept his relationship with Jenneke under wraps.
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Australia’s Alex Beck reacts after competing in the men’s 400m heats during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 1, 2021. (GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
The photos showed the two in a loving embrace, with Jenneke flashing her ring.
Jenneke competed in the Olympics for Australia at the Rio de Janeiro Games 2016. Unfortunately, she failed to make it out of the heats of the 100m hurdles. She suffered a similar incident at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Beck represented Australia at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Michelle Jenneke of Team Australia reacts after the women’s 100m hurdles heats during day four of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at the National Athletics Center on August 22, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
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The two athletes have won numerous medals in their careers. Jenneke on the youth circuit and Beck at the Oceania Championships in 2024.
