As a parent , it's often hard to know how to help your kids deal with profound disappointment, especially after watching them work so hard for it, and knowing that on perhaps another day, the goal very well could have been achieved.
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, a diver competing in the Olympics for Team GB, fell short of her goal this week. Only a week prior, the 19-year-old won a bronze medal in the synchronized 10-meter platform. And her outstanding performance on Monday placed her third in the semi-final.
But in the individual final, she came in 6th. Even if she had somehow improved her performance, it would have been pretty impossible to beat Quan Hongchan, who seemingly defied physics to come up with a new “no splash” technique that won her the gold.
Regardless, coming so close to realizing a dream and not getting it is so very painful, and Andrea was understandably let down. But her father Fred Sirieix, a TV personality who just so happened to also be working as an Olympics commentator for the BBC, was there to provide some sound words of encouragement.
In a clip record by the BBC, we hear Fred begin, “It’s sport. Some days you win and some days you lose. And yesterday you did brilliant.”
He then shows his daughter the text messages that had been pouring in sharing what an inspiration she has been to others.
“Kevin, you know, he said to me, ‘Let Andrea know the whole country is proud of her. My daughter wants to try diving because of her. She’s a superhero,’ Look at all the texts coming in.”
And then came the best part, when Andrea nodded and said “it just wasn’t meant to be” and Fred replied, “it wasn’t meant to be today .”
The video has been making it’s rounds on social media, gathering a ton of positive responses from people.
Here are a few comments from Reddit:
“The combination of realism (it wasn't meant to be), pride at what was accomplished (you are an inspiration) and hope for what might be (not today maybe next time) is so comforting and relaxing.”
“Best positive fatherly reply ever.”
“Such a moving scene! A father’s embrace and encouragement can make all the difference in moments of disappointment.”
“As a dad, being there for my daughter like this is such motivation.”
“Love how he also adds in ‘today’ when she says ‘was not meant to be.’ There's always tomorrow.”
Andrea has previously been open about mental health struggles, especially three years ago after competing in the Tokyo Olympics. During that period, she “didn’t even want to be alive,” she told the BBC. But she credits the support of her family for getting through to the other side.
“In that time, I stuck very close to my family and that’s why it means everything for them to be here because they have seen me at my lowest and now they have seen me compete at the Olympic Games,” she said. “That’s all I really wanted.”
And in the aforementioned clip, it’s clear that her father’s support continues to have an effect on her outlook as she says “it doesn't take away from the year.”
Fred continued to be a great parenting example as told the BBC “She has had a super year. She is diving well. She made a couple of errors and she got overtaken and she couldn’t claw back the deficit. She has come here, she has come to Paris in the Olympics and she has got a medal…So I am very happy for her.”
Parents—both with Olympian and non-Olympian children alike—don’t need to ignore their child’s shortcomings. But at the same time, it’s important for them to remind them that these imperfections are but small parts of the bigger picture. This is a prefect example of how to do that.
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