ANDREA Spendolini-Sirieix is riding high at the Olympics having already bagged a medal and hoping for another one.
The top athlete scooped a bronze for diving at Paris 2024, and has now won a place in the women’s 10m platform final.
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix was born in London on September 11, 2004.
As a youngster she attended Harris Academy Bermondsey and was talent scouted by Crystal Palace Diving Club.
Andrea isn’t the only famous face in the family, as her dad is First Dates star Fred Sirieix.
The maitre d’ in the Channel 4 dating show is in his native France to cheer on Andrea at Paris 2024.
Fred revealed he visited her in the Olympic village to pass on words of encouragement.
The First Dates star told The Sun: “It is fantastic for me to see Andrea compete.
“She’s going to fight like a lion and we hope she gets a medal of course but whatever happens she will do her best and that is all you can ask.”
Andrea is competing in her second Olympics.
She was just 16 when she participated in the Tokyo 2020 sporting event.
At the Games in Japan, her father wasn’t able to watch her diving because of the restrictions in place.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain in July 2021, Fred said: “It’s so exciting, we are so proud of her, she is working so hard.
“It’s only 31 days until the start of the Olympics. The sad thing is that nobody can go with her because there are no spectators allowed.
“Last year when the Olympics were supposed to take place I had all the time booked.
“And then it was cancelled and postponed to this year. We all had the time off to support Andrea this year but sadly nobody’s allowed.
“But it’s for the best. At the end of the day it’s about the athletes and allowing them to compete in the sports they have chosen.
“Only a month and half ago she was in the World Cup in Japan with Team GB and then they went straight to Budapest for the European Championships, where they did very well.
“So it was a great preparation. Now it’s a dream come true for her.”
Andrea’s dad isn’t the only famous relative she has — Fred’s brother is also a man of some repute.
Pierre Lao-Sirieix is the director of AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company who developed a vaccine for Covid-19.
Andrea said of him: “I love my uncle so much and I’m so proud of what he’s doing.
“He’s so great, so smart as well.”
Andrea is representing Team GB at Paris 2024 .
Her first event was on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, which was the women’s 10m synchro final.
She was victorious and together with Lois Toulson brought home bronze for Team GB — her first Olympic medal.
On August 5, 2024, Andrea won a place in women’s 10m platform final, where she will be hoping to take home another medal.
This event will take place on August 6, 2024.
Andrea’s breakthrough year came in 2022 when she won double European gold in the 10m platform and 10m synchro.
That same year she also picked up two Commonwealth titles in the 10m platform and 10m mixed synchro, as well as taking home her first medal at the World Championships — a bronze in the 10m synchro.
In the 2024 World Championships in Doha, she won bronze in the 10m platform and 10m synchro, as well as bring home the gold in the mixed team event.
In July 2024, Andrea won bronze with her diving partner Lois Toulson in the women’s 10m synchro final.
WHAT TO WATCH TODAY
TODAY’S BRIT MEDAL HOPES
One of the hottest spectacles of Paris 2024 is the 1500m men’s final (7.50pm) – will it be gold for either Josh Kerr or Jakob Ingebrigtsen in their epic rivalry?
World champion Sky Brown, now 16, wants to upgrade her Tokyo bronze to Paris gold in the women’s park skateboarding final but is battling back from a dislocated shoulder (4.30pm).
Ben Maher on board Dallas Vegas Batilly is into the final of the individual jumping equestrian alongside Harry Charles and Scott Brash after coming through the 74-rider qualifying and could defend his Tokyo gold after already securing the team title in Paris (9am).
BRITS TO WATCH
Jack Laugher goes in the 3m springboard diving preliminaries with Jordan Houlden (9am) before Andrea Spendolini Sirieix goes in the 10m platform final (2pm).
Lewis Richardson is already guaranteed a bronze in the 71kg boxing but has his semi-final at Roland Garros at 8.45pm.
The women’s 200m gives Dina Asher-Smith a chance to make up for her disappointing 100m result (final 8.40pm).
Jack Carlin, Ed Lowe and Hamish Turnbull team up in the track cycling men’s team sprint today with the final at 7.10pm, hoping to wrestle back the gold they won in Beijing, London and Rio.
GLOBAL STARS TODAY
Emma Hayes’ USA women’s football team face Germany in the semi-final in Lyon (5pm).
Kellie Harrington will go for back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the ring with the Irish star’s 60kg final vs China’s Yang Wenlu at 10pm – two bouts after Imane Khelif’s 66kg semi-final.
FANCY SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
It wouldn’t be the Olympics without some wrestling would it?
There is both freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines throughout the day at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
STATS MAD
A Hoy Where? For the first time since Atlanta 1996, the Team GB cycling track team will neither feature a certain Sir Chris Hoy nor Sir Jason Kenny. Just the 16 Olympic medals between those two legends, 13 of them gold.
Follow all the action as it unfolds with our Paris 2024 Olympics LIVE blog.
