Fred Sirieix reveals what it's like watching his daughter as she wins Paris Olympics medal
Fred Sirieix is one proud father after watching his daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix cement herself in the Olympic record books.
But watching her dive into the swimming pool tens of meters below her is not a wholly enjoyable experience, the Frenchman has revealed.
Andrea, 19, this morning (31 July) secured a bronze medal for Team GB in the women’s synchronised diving 10 metres platform event alongside her teammate Lois Toulson.
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The pair were in floods of tears when their medal was confirmed after Canada fell short of knocking them off the podium with their last dive of the day. Running across the side of the pool to embrace their team, it was a heartfelt moment.
Her First Dates star and maître d'hôtel father was sat in the stands doing coverage for the BBC before sitting down to intensely watching the final itself, stating he was 'too nervous' to commentate during the dives themselves.
Visibly emotional after the medal was secured, Sirieix posted on X: "I’m still crying. Thank you so much for all your messages.
"It means a lot. Sorry I can’t reply to all. Merci xxx."
In video, he added: "This is the most beautiful feeling. I am bursting with pride, bursting with happiness and joy. It feels like I’m going to explode.
“Girls, well done. Thank you very much for this amazing day."
On the eve of the final, Sirieix opened up on what it is like to watch daughter Andrea take to the diving board.
"An inner turmoil grips my body when I watch Andrea dive. I remember almost having a heart attack at the Commonwealth Games in 2022, where she won two gold medals," he wrote in an article for MailOnline.
"Thankfully Andrea handles the pressure a lot better than I do."
Sirieix says he spends the moments when she's climbing up to the board trying to put himself in her state of mind, saying that the stress of working in Michelin-starred restaurant with A-lister celebrities is 'nothing compared' to watching his daughter do what she does best.
Though he's not scared when she dives, despite the risk of injury always being there, due to the incredibly high standards she has now reached.
Speaking on the prospect of her winning a medal in his native France, Sirieix labelled it the 'stuff of dreams'.
"I’m an emotional guy, it’s my daughter and so there’s bound to be tears no matter the final result," he said. And there was, with proud dad Fred overwhelmed when bronze was secured. A great moment for the family.
Team GB's current medal count - 16
Gold medallists
- Rosalind Canter, Laura Collett, Tom McEwen: Equestrian - Eventing team
- Tom Pidcock: Mountain Bike - Men's cross country
- Nathan Hales: Shooting - Men's trap
- Tom Dean, Kieran Bird, James Guy, Jack McMillan, Matthew Richards, Duncan Scott: Swimming - Men's 4x200m freestyle
- Alex Yee: Men's triathlon
- Lauren Henry, Lola Anderson, Hannah Scott and Georgina Brayshaw: Rowing - Women's quadruple sculls
Silver medallists
- Anna Henderson: Cycling - Women's individual time trial
- Adam Peaty: Swimming - Men's 100m breaststroke
- Tom Daley and Noah Williams: Diving - Men's synchronised 10m platform
- Adam Burgess: Canoe Slalom - Men's canoe single
- Matthew Richards: Swimming - Men's 200m freestyle
Bronze medallists
- Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen: Diving - Women's synchronised 3m springboard
- Kimberley Woods: Canoe - Women's slalom
- Laura Collett: Equestrian - Eventing individual
- Beth Potter: Women's triathlon
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson: Diving - Women's synchronised 10m platform
Topics: Entertainment, Fred Sirieix, Olympics, Social Media, TV, Twitter, First Dates
Tom Earnshaw