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Lois Toulson insisted that she and diving partner Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix “never gave up” after a tense finale in the women’s synchronised 10m platform event saw them claim bronze.
The pair jumped into second at the end of round two, but entering the more difficult dives, they tumbled into fifth after the third round.
However, they staged a brilliant comeback in the final two rounds to crawl back up the medal table.
The pair scored 77.76 on their final dive and following a nervous wait, their spot on the podium was all but confirmed after nearest rivals Canada could only score 68.16 on their last dive.
It meant Great Britain clinched bronze by 5.16 points and Toulson insisted the pair refused to give up going into the final stages.
She said: “We knew our last two dives were our hardest degree of difficulty, so if we got those down we’d be back up at the top.
“We never gave up or thought it was over, we kept pushing.”
Spendolini-Sirieix admitted the duo did not know how tight the competition was during the final round.
“First off, we didn’t look at the scoreboard, so we didn’t actually know how close it was,” she said.
“But our back twist, as Lois has said a lot of times, is our strongest dive and we just wanted to be strong on our last dive, finish strong.
“Whatever happened I was proud to represent Great Britain alongside Lois.”
After the poor third dive, which scored 60.3, Spendolini-Sirieix said she knew they could claw their way back to a podium position.
“I was disappointed (with the third dive) more than worried, I wasn’t worried because I knew we could bring it back,” she said.
“I gave it my all on inward and on twist, just let it all out and we have a medal.”
Chinese pair Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan successfully defended their Olympic gold, while North Korea pair Jo Jin Mi and Kim Mirae earned silver.
The British pair were watched on by family and friends in the stands, including Toulson’s diver boyfriend Jack Laugher and Spendolini-Sirieix’s father, First Dates maitre d’ Fred Sirieix.
Spendolini-Sirieix made her Olympic debut in the empty arenas of Tokyo 2020 and is looking forward to sharing her success in Paris with family.
“Having family and doing this alongside Lois is so much sweeter and I can’t wait to celebrate with them,” Spendolini-Sirieix added.
“My mum sacrificed a lot to take care of me and my brother, my dad has sacrificed a lot too.
“There’s no amount of thank yous that can repay everything they’ve done. I hope this is a starting point to say thank you.”
The pair have carried on a successful spell so far in the pool for Team GB, who now have two bronze and one silver medal from three events and Toulson hailed the strength of the diving squad.
“With Scarlett (Mew Jensen) and Yasmin (Harper) the other day, then Tom (Daley) and Noah (Williams), I think it shows how strong British diving is at the moment,” she said.
“We’ve still got Jack and Anthony (Harding) to go, all the individuals, but as a team we’re all so close. That helps the morale and helps get the medals.”
