Five days ago, she was a young diver only known because of her famous father.Now Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix is a double Commonwealth champion and a star in her own right.
The 17-year-old has been the breakout English woman of these Games, with two gold medals and a silver. And the teenager’s terrific twisting and tumbling has for once even put her celebrity dad Fred Sirieix – the French maitre d’ on ‘s First Dates – in the shade.
Spendolini-Sirieix’s latest triumph came in Monday’s 10-metre mixed synchro with partner Noah Williams.It added to her victory in the individual event and silver in the women’s synchro with Eden Cheng.
And she celebrated with a kiss to the camera and then a synchronised belly flop into the pool.It was her only dodgy dive from a near-flawless few days.
‘I had that one planned,’ smiled Spendolini-Sirieix. ‘I told Noah that if we do well we should all belly flop. It was an amazing celebration and the perfect way to end the competition. We had fun.’
A bigger celebration awaits Spendolini-Sirieix next month, when her father Fred – who was not in the stands on Monday because he was away for TV work – takes her to New York for her 18th birthday.
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix said her planned belly flop was the perfect end to the Commonwealth Games
The 17-year-old has been the breakout English woman of these Games, with two gold medals and a silver
Spendolini-Sirieix’s latest triumph came in Monday’s 10-metre mixed synchro with partner Noah Williams
But then all roads lead to Paris 2024, where she will surely be in contention for a first Olympic medal, having finished seventh in her individual final on her debut in Toyko last year.
‘I’m very, very excited for Paris,’ said Spendolini-Sirieix.’The preparations are already under way and I am excited to see what I can do.
‘I came here with no expectations, I just wanted to have fun and improve. I made a decision to train even harder and it definitely worked.It has given me a lot of confidence.’
That confidence was obvious from the outset on Monday, with Spendolini-Sirieix and Williams, 22, topping the standings from round two of five. Their final score of 333.06 points was 14.52 clear of English pair Kyle Kothari and Lois Toulson, who only started diving together last week.
She has even put her celebrity dad Fred Sirieix – the French maitre d’ on Channel 4’s First Dates – in the shade
‘I am really pleased for Andrea that she is diving so well.At such a young age, she has got such a bright future ahead of her,’ said Toulson, who also had to settle for silver behind Spendolini-Sirieix in the individual event.
This was also a second gold medal for Williams, who overcame severe cramp to win the men’s synchro with Matty Lee on Friday.Overall, England topped the diving medal table with their best Games haul of six golds, four silvers and five bronzes.
‘It is really exciting, with people like Andrea showing how good they are,’ added Williams. ‘There is a lot of world-class diving in England.’
