When Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix was a little girl, she once told her father, the chef Fred Sirieix, that she was “half-half”, adding: “I’m half-French, half-Italian and half-British.” Team GB will be glad that despite the other countries she could have dived for, she chose the one where she was born.
In a dramatic final in the synchronised 10-metre platform at the Paris Olympics, Spendolini-Sirieix and her diving partner Lois Toulson snatched bronze from a devastated Canadian pair to become the first British women to win a medal in this event.
It went right to the wire at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis in a tight finale that showcased the continued dominance of the Chinese in this competition. Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi – aged only 17 and 18 respectively – took gold for China, while North Korea’s Kim Mi-rae and Jo Jin‑mi took silver.
“I’ve completed the home game series!” a beaming Spendolini-Sirieix declared after the medal ceremony, referring to her participation in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the European aquatics championships in Rome.
Her father, maître d’ in the TV show First Dates who is in Paris as part of the BBC’s commentary team, could be seen in tears after seeing the pair snatch a medal from the jaws of fourth place, later saying he was “bursting with pride” at the pair’s achievement.
Spendolini-Sirieix said both her Italian mother, Alex Spendolini, and her French father had sacrificed so much so she could achieve her dreams. “There’s no amount of thankyous that can repay everything that they’ve done, and so I hope that this is a starting point,” she said.
Toulson, who was in floods of tears as she hugged her diver boyfriend, Jack Laugher, after winning the medal, said of his support: “We’ve been training together for a lot of years now, so we’ve been through it all together. To have him there celebrating and getting a bit emotional at the end, when we had a hug, was very special.”
Spendolini-Sirieix, the first British teenager to win a medal at these Olympic Games, said: “Diving isn’t easy, it’s very mentally challenging and very mentally taxing and it takes a lot from you, so it’s kind of like something is being given back. It just pushes me to want to do more, to grow.”
The British pair had started strong in their first two of five dives and were in silver medal position after the second round. However, a poor third dive on their forward 3.5 somersaults pike looked out of sync and put them down in fifth. The dive got only 60.30 points; by comparison the Chinese leaders took 80.10. “I was disappointed, more than worried,” Spendolini-Sirieix said. “I wasn’t worried because I knew we could bring it back.”
The fourth dive was an improvement, getting a score of 69.20. Going into the fifth and final dive the British pair were in fourth, but their final dive, a brilliant back 2.5 somersault with 1.5 twist, gave them a huge 77.76 points for a total of 304.38. Laugher, who will compete in the men’s synchronised 3m springboard final on Friday before the individual competition next week, rose to his feet punching the air.
Then it was a matter of waiting and hoping. The Canadians took to the board, but their last dive could not make the tally they needed to take them into third – they fell 5.16 short – and the bronze belonged to Great Britain. “I’ve never shook more in my life than waiting for that result to come up,” Spendolini‑Sirieix said.
Despite winning silver with a total of 315.90, North Korea’s Kim said she was not satisfied. “We really wanted to give gold to our country, but the performance was not done as we expected, as we tried, so we have some regrets about it,” she said. “But we are still happy and excited.”
Somewhat dauntingly given a winning margin of 43.2 pts, Chen said she thought the Chinese could improve, despite a performance so perfect that the pair seemed to merge into one figure as they hurtled through the air.
“We can do better on the synchronisation,” she said. After taking gold among a sea of Chinese flags, she did appear to enjoy the moment, adding: “I feel so good.”
After winning bronze for Britain, Toulson thanked her family. “I can’t wait to put my medal around their neck, and just enjoy it with them,” she said.
Spendolini-Sirieix said: “And at the end, just having family [there] and doing this alongside Lois is so much sweeter, and I can’t wait to celebrate with them.”
