Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (/ænˈdreɪə spɛndəˈliːnɪ sɪrɪ.ɛks/; born 11 September 2004) is a British-French professional diver who represents Great Britain and England internationally.
 Spendolini-Sirieix in October 2022 being presented with the 2022 National Lottery Athlete of the Year | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | British French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 September 2004 London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | London[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2018-present[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relative | Fred Sirieix (father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Diving | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | 10 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Alex Rochas[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In her breakthrough year of 2022, she became a World junior, two-time European senior, two-time Commonwealth Games and two-time national senior champion across 10 metre platform and 10 metre synchronised platform events, as well as a World senior medallist in the team event.
In 2024, she won the gold medal in the team event of the 2024 World Aquatics Championships. Days later, she won a bronze medal in the 10 metre platform. A third medal, another bronze, followed in the 10 metre synchronised platform event.
At the 2024 Summer Olympics she won a bronze medal with Lois Toulson in the 10 metre synchronised event.
Early life
editAndrea Spendolini-Sirieix was born in London on 11 September 2004,[3] the daughter of French hotel host Fred Sirieix and his ex-partner Alex Spendolini, who is of Italian heritage.[4] Spendolini-Sirieix was talent scouted by Crystal Palace diving club when she was at John Stainer Community Primary School in Brockley, then completed her secondary and sixth form education at Harris Academy Bermondsey.[5]
Career
editAt the British Diving Championships in 2018, Spendolini-Sirieix and her colleague from Crystal Palace Diving Club, Josie Zillig, won the women's 10m synchronised diving event, completing five dives as the only entrants.[6] The following year, partnering Emily Martin, she won Women's synchronised diving competition at the Junior European Championships in Kazan.[7]
She made her international debut in 2018 as a thirteen year old, and won her first solo international gold medal at the 2020 FINA Diving Grand Prix. Later that year Spendolini-Sirieix was recognised as the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. She won the gold for the women's individual 10 metre platform at her first Commonwealth Games, in 2022, the first English woman to win the event since 1966. Two weeks later, she became European Champion in the same event, representing Great Britain. Sirieix went on to win a further gold at each event in the synchronised discipline; in the women's event at the European Championships with Lois Toulson, and at the 10 metre mixed synchro event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with Noah Williams.
Spendolini-Sirieix won a solo gold at the British Diving Championships in the Women's 10m Platform competition in 2020,[8] and a few weeks later won her first international gold medal at the FINA Grand Prix in Rostock in February 2020.[9] Having been in second place during the first four rounds in Rostock, she achieved a score of 76.80 on her final dive to win with a total of 330.50, ahead of Celina Toth who scored a total of 329.35.[10][11]
Spendolini-Sirieix earned her place as the youngest member of the Team GB diving team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after some successful performances over the previous two years, including two medals at the 2021 European Championships. In Tokyo, aged only 16, Andrea went through the rounds and reached the Olympic final in the Women's 10m Platform, ultimately finishing seventh.
She was selected as the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2020, and was shortlisted again in 2022.[12][13]
In May 2021, Spendolini-Sirieix and Noah Williams won a silver medal in the 10m mixed synchro event at the 2020 European Aquatics Championships.[14] She also won a bronze in individual 10m platform at the Championships.[15]
In August 2022, she won two gold medals, in the Women's 10m platform and the Mixed Pairs Synchronised 10m platform with Noah Williams,[16] and a silver medal, in the Women's Synchronised 10m platform with Eden Cheng, at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.[17]
In May 2023, she won her second 10m platform title at the British Diving Championships.[18]
In July 2023 Lois Toulson and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix won silver at 2023 World Aquatics Championships in the Women's 10m synchro.[19]
A year later, they won bronze in the Women's 10m Synchro at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[20][21] Spendolini-Sirieix came 6th in the individual 10 metre platform at the Games.[22][23]
Personal life
editSpendolini-Sirieix is the daughter of French-born maitre d'hotel and television personality Fred Sirieix, who rose to fame in the United Kingdom through the First Dates television series. Her mother, Alex Spendolini, is of Italian heritage. Her father was employed as a roving reporter during the 2024 Summer Olympics for the BBC as a French and Paris native familiar to British television viewers, and interviewed his daughter when she won her bronze medal.
Spendolini-Sirieix is a Christian.[24] After winning bronze at the 2024 Olympics, she gave an interview in which she spoke about giving glory to God.[25]
Career highlights
edit| Competition [16] | Event | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
International, representing  Great Britain
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| Olympic Games | Women's 10m Platform | 7th | 6th | ||||||
| Women's 10m Synchro | 
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| World Aquatics Championships | Women's 10m Platform | 19th |
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| Women's 10m Synchro |  [D]
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| Team |
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| European Aquatics Championships | Women's 10m Platform |
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| Women's 10m Synchro |
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| 10m Mixed Synchro | [C]
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[26] | ||||||
| FINA Diving World Cup | Women's 10m Platform | 4th | |||||||
| FINA Diving Grand Prix (Rostock) | Women's 10m Platform | |
[8] | ||||||
| International junior, representing Great Britain
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| Junior World Championships | Women's 10m Platform |
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| Team |
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| Junior European Championships | Women's 10m Synchro | [B] |
[7] | ||||||
International, representing  England
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| Commonwealth Games | Women's 10m Platform |
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| Women's 10m Synchro |
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| 10m Mixed Synchro |
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| Domestic | |||||||||
| British Diving Championships | Women's 10m Platform | 4th | 5th |
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[5] | |||
| Women's 10m Synchro | [A]
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[6] | ||||
| British National Diving Cup | Women's 10m Platform |
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^ A. with Josie Zilling (there were no other entrants)
^ B. with Emily Martin
^ C. with Noah Williams
^ D. with Lois Toulson
References
edit- ^ "Spendolini Siriex Andrea". Paris 2024 Olympics.
- ^ a b "Andrea Spendolini-Siriex". Aquatics GB.
- ^ "Andrea Spendolini Siriex". fina.org. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ Colderick, Stephanie (5 August 2022). "First Dates Fred Sirieix has a famous sporting daughter". WalesOnline. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix 'worked relentlessly' to study for A-Levels and train for Commonwealth Games". 10 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Dixon reclaims national 10m title". Western Morning News. Plymouth, England. 28 January 2018. p. 48.
- ^ a b "City divers win medals in Russia". Plymouth Evening Herald. Plymouth, England. 28 January 2018. p. 48.
- ^ a b "Andrea dives on to young SPOTY shortlist". britishswimming.org. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Young Sports Personality of the Year 2020: Young diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix wins". BBC. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "FINA Diving Grand Prix 2020". fina.org. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Canada's Toth takes silver in 10-metre tower at diving Grand Prix event". The Tribune. Welland, Ontario, Canada. 21 February 2020.
- ^ Myers, Rebecca (20 December 2020). "From high board to high heels for Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix". The Times. London.
- ^ "Young Sports Personality 2022: Sky Brown, Jessica Gadirova & Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix on shortlist". BBC Sport. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "williams and spendolini-sirieix score synchro silver". British Swimming. 10 May 2021.
- ^ Hope, Nick (13 May 2021). "European Diving Championships: Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix wins second medal". BBC Sport.
- ^ a b "Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix". British Swimming. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ "Diver Spendolini-Sirieix was 'close to quitting'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ "live updates from the british diving championships 2023". British Swimming. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "History makers Lois and Andrea secure synchro silver". British Swimming. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "Spendolini-Sirieix & Toulson snatch diving bronze". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix writes own compelling story with resilient Olympics bronze". The Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "Spendolini-Sirieix emotional after missing out on medal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "'I'm just happy to be alive': Spendolini-Sirieix opens up on her mental health". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ Squires, Neil (30 July 2024). "Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix: I nearly quit after Tokyo – I had to rebuild my relationship with diving". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ John, Emma (3 August 2024). "The way, the truth and the Olympic record: how God struck gold in Paris". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ "Williams and Spendolini-Sirieix score synchro silver". Aquatics GB.
External links
edit- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix at British Swimming
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix at World Aquatics
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix at Olympics.com
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix at Olympedia
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix at Team GB
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix at Team England
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
