Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix: 'I compete with family in my heart'

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Bronze Medalist, Andrea Spendolini Sirieix of Team Great Britain pose with their medals during the Medal Ceremony after the Women's 10m Platform Final on day four of the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships. Andrea is a 19-year-old woman with dark brown hair tied back. She smiles at the camera as she holds up a bronze medal and a plush smiling stingray mascot. She wears a navy blue British Swimming tracksuit.Image source, Getty Images
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Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix has Commonwealth, European and World diving titles

Commonwealth, European and now a World champion, but Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix has no plans to rest on her laurels as she aims for the Paris Olympics.

The 19-year-old bagged three medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha last week and says the first thing she does is give them to her family.

"Every competition I do, my family's always in my heart," she says. "I always do my best to make them proud."

And you've likely heard of her dad: First Dates' Fred Sirieix.

"He's just my dad," Andrea, from London, tells BBC Newsbeat. "I don't really see him as Fred Sirieix the maître d', I don't see him as anything other than my dad."

Fred came to support Andrea in Doha with the rest of her family, who have "sacrificed so much for me".

"They would watch three-and-a-half hour, four hour training sessions. Matthieu [Andrea's brother] would do homework as he was watching me train.

"So the medals that I have, I bring back and give straight to them because it's like, I'm competing but I want to give back as much as I possibly can to my family."

Image source, Getty Images
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Andrea's dad, Fred, is the well-known maître d' on Channel 4's First Dates

Andrea won bronze in the 10m synchronised event with Lois Toulson as well as a bronze in the individual event in Doha.

But it was in the mixed 3m & 10m team event, diving alongside Tom Daley, where she won her gold medal.

"Tom is a very good diver," she says. "If I do synchro with him I need to match his technique so that means I need to level up - and I did just that."

Competing with the Olympic gold medallist was "so inspiring" and pushed her to do better.

"It's nice to look back on dives and see the growth," she says.

'One dive at a time'

Andrea has always loved sports but got her first taste of diving at primary school.

"My mum dragged me to the pool and I haven't stopped," she says. "It's just so fun, it's a beautiful mix between gymnastics and swimming."

But "it's not for the faint-hearted," she adds. "It is difficult, mentally challenging and you have to battle a lot of fears."

Image source, Getty Images
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Andrea won gold in the team event alongside Tom Daley, Scarlett Mew Jensen and Daniel Goodfellow

Since finishing school last year, Andrea has noticed her performance improve now that she can "actually focus" on her sport.

"I've never had a season where I haven't balanced school and training at the same time.

"My timetable is a lot different, I'm a lot more free," she says.

Andrea is now able to train for about four hours a day, but is there time for a life outside of diving?

"I like to sleep," Andrea laughs, before adding: "I love photography, I love writing and I love journaling."

The next event she's focusing on is the Olympics in Paris later this year where she hopes to improve on her Tokyo event in 2021, where she finished seventh.

"Preparations are going really well," she says.

"I'm taking it one day at a time, training one dive at a time."

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