British diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix spoke of how happy she woke up on the morning of her final dive after a period of poor mental health, having lost her second Olympic medal.
The 19-year-old diver, who won bronze last week in the 10m linked platform with Lois Toulson, was sixth in the final on Tuesday afternoon, but Spendolini-Sirieix said her tears leave the pool had not yet arrived. reaction to his performance.
“So I woke up this morning, and like, the first thought I had was: ‘I’m glad I woke up,’ and that’s how it’s been for a long time, ” he said. “I am grateful to be alive and to have this experience and to be here with my family.
“I’m really not upset about my performance and I’m not upset about where I came from. My competitors did better than me today. It just means I have a lot to do.”
Spendolini-Sirieix, who was the youngest Team GB diver in Tokyo to qualify at 16, had said she wanted to retire from the sport after the Games but he had never revealed the depth of his unhappiness.
“Three years ago I didn’t even want to live, so today I’m happy that I’m alive, I’m breathing and I have my family to support me…
“After Tokyo, it was a very scary time for me, that’s why I appreciate every morning, because it’s like my eyes have woken up.
“I’m out of breath. I have food on the table. I have water in my cup, and I have a roof over my head. So, you know, sometimes an Olympic medal isn’t everything. We have other things, so we should be very grateful and they are things that unfortunately we take for granted… I feel like there are a lot of problems there. Everyone doesn’t see, and we move forward quietly.”
Spendolini-Sirieix, whose father Fred is maître d’ on TV show First Dates and is in Paris as part of the BBC’s commentary team, qualified for the final after finishing third in the semi-finals on Monday.
A powerful dive put her in an impressive medal position in fourth place but she slipped down the table as Chinese swimmers Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi, who won gold in the combined diving event, asserted their dominance.
Quan’s first dive was deemed unimprovable, and was given a perfect score of 90. A new Chinese term was coined to describe his performances, translated as and “disappearing water”, and it wasn’t hard to see why.
A large enough rock would have caused a stir after his first three-and-a-half dives and the ratings didn’t slip in the next four attempts.
Quan and Chen came in first and second respectively while North Korea’s Kim Mi-rae finished with bronze. China has now won all five diving competitions at the Aquatics Center in Saint-Denis.
Spendolini-Sirieix was in tears after her final dive, one of her best kills, and was comforted by her mother at the end.
“My mother told me to keep smiling and she said she was proud of me and they came to see me. At the end of the day, that’s all I can ask for.
“I am very happy to be here, to be at the Olympic Games. It’s been a very long year and it doesn’t take away from my accomplishments. Losing one award doesn’t change who I am. It was just God’s way of saying that there is more to be done and I just give God all the glory.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or write National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, chat about 988lifeline.orgor text HOME on 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. Australia, crisis support service Lines is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
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