Fiance of Team GB rower ‘never seen her that happy’ after winning Olympic gold

The fiance of a female rower said he has “never seen her that happy” after she won gold for Team GB on the fifth day of the Paris Olympics.

The team gathered medal momentum on Wednesday as the first gold of the day was clinched by men’s triathlon champion Alex Yee.

Around 15 minutes after Yee’s success, Great Britain’s women’s quadruple sculls crew – featuring Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw and Lauren Henry – claimed gold in a dramatic race to the line with the Netherlands.

Kieran Reilly won silver for Great Britain in the men’s BMX Freestyle final while Beth Potter secured bronze in the women’s individual triathlon, and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson came third in the women’s synchronised 10m platform dive.

Yee slumped to the ground after completing the race, with second-placed Hayden Wilde, from New Zealand, sitting down next to him and wrapping an arm around Yee’s shoulder.

Alistair Brownlee posted a story to Instagram after the race with the caption “Take a bow @lixsanyee”.

Anderson fulfilled a childhood dream with her gold medal on Wednesday.

Before he died, her father gave her a note that she had written as a child which said her dream was to one day win Olympic rowing gold.

Through tears, the rower told the BBC: “I had forgotten about it, obviously, but a couple of years ago my dad reminded me and I know that he would be so, so proud.

“I’m just thinking a lot about him right now and it’s really lovely.”

Brayshaw’s father, Robert, listed his daughter’s accolades on Facebook: “Georgie Brayshaw – European Champion, World Champion, World Record Holder and now Olympic Champion.”

Her fiance, Ashley Tuton, told the PA news agency the moment her family realised the team had won was “insane” and that she gave an “‘achieved-your-dream’ sort of smile” when standing on the podium.

He said: “I’ve never seen her that happy as she was on that podium there.

“That smile she gave – I’ve never seen that before.

“It’s definitely an ‘achieved-your-dream’ sort of smile – she was absolutely beaming.”

At 15, Brayshaw had a horse-riding accident which left her paralysed on her left side and in a coma for nine days, according to British Rowing.

After a year of rehabilitation and physiotherapy, she returned to school and went on to the University of Northampton where she took up rowing, the governing body for the sport’s website states.

Scott’s mother, Sharon, said there was a 54-strong group of family and friends to support her in Paris and that they had been drinking whisky to celebrate.

She said: “I think we’re absolutely just in awe of what she achieved today. It was just fabulous to see her coming across the line.”

“She’s really happy because that, for her, is the culmination of three years’ work from Tokyo and she’s been rowing since she was 13 so it’s just the job done,” she added.

Away from rowing, Fred Sirieix was among an emotional crowd of Team GB supporters as he celebrated his daughter’s bronze medal in the women’s synchronised 10m platform dive.

The 52-year-old First Dates star cheered with both hands in the air as Spendolini-Sirieix and Toulson secured third place at the Aquatics Centre.

Toulson’s partner – fellow GB diver Jack Laugher – was in tears in the stands as it became clear that the pair had sealed a spot on the podium.

Early on Wednesday morning, the first triathlon race kicked off with the women’s individual event which saw Potter, from Glasgow, win a bronze medal.

In the same event, Team GB’s Georgia Taylor-Brown came sixth and Kate Waugh 15th.

Taylor-Brown’s boyfriend, French triathlete Vincent Luis, posted a selfie of the couple to his Instagram story and said he was “so proud”.

Waugh’s school hosted a breakfast watch party for the early-morning event – with students, parents and teachers arriving at 6.45am for the screening, which was complete with a Parisian breakfast spread of croissants and pains au chocolat.

Angela Ponton, director of sport for Royal Grammar School Newcastle, told the PA news agency: “It was just brilliant to have people here celebrating Kate and her achievements.”

She added: “I think she’ll be disappointed because she wants to do the best she can, she wants to win, but it’s a phenomenal achievement and getting there to the Olympics, getting to Paris 2024 is unbelievable.

“So to get 15th is amazing, is really, really good, and I think it’s only just going to spur her on for Los Angeles 2028.”