Olympic diver’s dad shows exactly how to be a supportive sports parent after disappointment
Watching your child experience profound disappointment is never easy for a parent, especially when you know how much they wanted something and how hard they worked for it. This week, Olympic diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix—who snagged a bronze medal last week—narrowly missed out on a medal and placed sixth in her event. In a video recorded by the BBC, her dad is seen comforting her while she sheds tears of disappointment afterward.
“It’s sport. Some days you win and some days you lose. And yesterday you did brilliant,” her dad, Fred Sirieix tells her.
Pulling up text messages of support from friends and family on his phone, Fred said: “Kevin, you know, he said to me, ‘Let Andrea know the whole country is proud of her. My daughter wants to try diving because of her. She’s a superhero,’ Look at all the texts coming in.”
‘You did your best Andrea,’ he said, before embracing Andrea.
Previously, Andrea has openly discussed her own mental health struggles in the past.
“Three years ago, I didn’t even want to be alive, so today I’m just happy that I am alive, that I’m breathing and that I’ve got my family to support me,” the 19-year-old told BBC. “After Tokyo, it was a really scary time for myself. That is why I treasure every morning because my eyes have woken up and I have got breath in my lungs.”
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She’s credited her family for always being there for her and helping her get to where she is today.
“In that time, I stuck very close to my family and that’s why it means everything for them to be here because they have seen me at my lowest and now they have seen me compete at the Olympic Games,” she added. “That’s all I really wanted.”
After this week’s event in Paris, she received her dad’s support and it was clear his words had a profound impact on her.
“Not getting a medal today does not take away from the medal I have received and the achievements I have done the whole three years since Tokyo,” she told him.
Watching Fred’s compassion and love for his daughter and all she’s accomplished—well, it’s hard not to get emotional. Our natural instinct as parents is to feel everything our children feel, but it’s our job to help them through it—no matter how old they are.
Afterward, Fred told the BBC that he was proud of his “little girl,” no matter how she performed.
“She has had a super year,” he said. “She is diving well. She made a couple of errors and she got overtaken and she couldn’t claw back the deficit. She has come here, she has come to Paris in the Olympics and she has got a medal.”
It’s important to note that he can acknowledge her shortcomings in her performance while not dwelling on them, and instead reminded her of how awesome she is and that she can keep working and try again. He said what he loves most about his daughter is her “positivity.”
“That is Andrea—and that is beautiful because it is about balance. It is about knowing who you are and making the most of life, and that is what she is doing. So I am very happy for her.”
