When her diving career is over, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix wants to be a journalist, sharing other people’s stories and finding the humanity in sport. “You get to learn about people,” the 19-year-old said, “and that’s a beautiful thing”. In Paris, Spendolini-Sirieix wrote a comeback story of her own, standing on the Olympic podium with Lois Toulson after winning bronze in the women’s synchronised 10m platform. It was the sort of tale of resilience and spirit she aspires to tell when no longer in the thick of the action.
When Spendolini-Sirieix made her Olympics debut in Tokyo three years ago, the experience was overwhelming to the point that she almost quit diving at the age of 16 . The famous part of her surname - that of her father, First Dates maitre d’ and TV personality Fred Sirieix - raised her profile ahead of that Olympics debut, unfairly inflating medal expectations in what was her first major competition. Then, when competition began, she suffered through the “twisties”, the same disorienting mental block gymnastics star Simone Biles experienced at the same Games. Returning home, Spendolini-Sirieix felt as if she had been a disappointment and struggled with her mental health.
But Spendolini-Sirieix did not give up. Three years on from Tokyo, Spendolini-Sirieix deserved to be recognised in her own right as she returned to the Olympics in Paris. Along with Toulson, the pair had won silver at last year’s World Championship in the 10m synchronised platform to go along with gold medals at the European and Commonwealth Games in 2022. Her comeback was the triumph that ultimately mattered already ahead of her return to the Olympics, as was the openness in which she had discussed and dealt with her issues.
After finding the courage to try again, Spendolini-Sirieix and Toulson weren’t going to submit after a difficult start in the women’s synchronised 10m platform. A disappointing third dive by their admission on the forward three-and-a-half somersaults, falling out of sync after their launch, only scored a 60.3 and left Spendolini-Sirieix and Toulson fifth in the standings and out of the medal positions.
Waiting under the platform, Spendolini-Sirieix and Toulson blocked out the scoreboard and focused on what they could control. Near-perfection was required and while the last two dives were the most difficult, they were also their strongest. “I knew we could bring it back,” said Spendolini-Sirieix. “We never gave up,” Toulson added.
China’s Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi had already wrapped up gold by that point. From the moment they slipped seamlessly into the water after launching themselves off the towering platform for the opening back dive pike and nines flashed across the board from the judges’ scorecards, the gold looked safe in China’s hands for the seventh Olympics in a row. Chen, at 18, was the defending champion from Tokyo, and although the 17-year-old Quan was a new partner at the Olympics, the three-time world champions were immaculate and in a class of their own from start to finish.
The rest of the field, though, was wide open. The European champions Kseniia Bailo and Sofiia Lyskun from Ukraine were strong and focused. But the fourth dive, on their most difficult attempt, cost them. The hugely popular Mexico team of Gabriela Agundez Garcia and Alejandra Orozco Loza, who had won bronze in Tokyo, had fans rattling instruments in the arena on their ascent to the platform but faded from view ahead of the final round. With one round to go, North Korea’s Jo Jin Mi and Kim Mi Rae held second with Canada’s Kate Miller and Caeli McKay in third. Spendolini-Sirieix and Toulson stood in fourth, five points behind the medals, but with the belief it could be overturned.
In the stands at the Paris Aquatics Centre, Jack Laugher, Toulson’s boyfriend and Olympic diving champion in the 3m synchro at Rio 2016, was in bits, fretting and stressing next to Tom Daley. But in the only place that mattered, on the top of the platform as high as a three-storey building, Spendolini-Sireiex and Toulson found peace. Standing on the edge, facing away from the water, they threw themselves backwards and into a two and a half somersaults with two and a half twists. The result, 77.76, was their best of the day and just what they needed for 303.38 points.
Great Britain were the first up and their final dive was followed by an agonising wait, as Spendolini-Sireiex shook at the side of the pool. China would win gold, in perfect coordination from start to end, while the North Korea pair barely made a ripple upon entry and secured silver. It came down to Canada’s McKay and Miller but they lost their rhythm and wobbled, only scoring 68.16 on their last dive. Afterwards, fighting back the tears and speaking between gulps, McKay contemplated finishing fourth at the second Olympics in a row. “It’s the hardest place to come.”
Those stories of devastation can be equally compelling, but Spendolini-Sireiex had already seen her share. This time she wrote herself a new ending.
Most Popular
Comments / 0