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She took seventh place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Women’s 10m platform diving final on Thursday.
And on Friday, Fred Sirieix, 49, shared sweet throwback snaps to Instagram as he paid a touching tribute to his daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, 16.
The First Dates host could be seen with his daughter riding on his shoulders as a child, and elsewhere the youngster was photographed feeding a squirrel.
Throwback: On Friday, Fred Sirieix, 49, shared sweet throwback snaps to Instagram as he paid a touching tribute to his daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, 16
One snap showed Andrea as a child smiling sweetly at the camera, and proud dad Fred was sure to include action shots of his daughter’s Olympic debut.
Fred wrote alongside: ‘Olympian and 7th best diver in the world. Well done champ. Forever my little girl who once used to live on my shoulders.
‘Only now she flies into the air. #goAndrea #olympics #diving #platform #10m #teamgb @andreassirieix04.’
Superstar! She took seventh place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Women’s 10m platform diving final on Thursday
Cute: The First Dates host could be seen with his daughter riding on his shoulders as a child, and elsewhere the youngster was photographed feeding a squirrel
Adorable: One snap showed Andrea as a child smiling sweetly at the camera
Following her Olympic debut on Thursday, the maître d’hôtel supported his daughter from the beginning of her Tokyo journey and penned a simple yet effective tweet to show just how proud he was of her.
”The important thing in life is not the triumph but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.’ – Pierre de Coubertin #Olympics’, Fred wrote on Thursday.
The tweet comes after Andrea broke down in tears as she spoke to her First Dates star father Fred on Zoom after finishing in seventh place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Women’s 10m platform diving final on Thursday.
‘The essential thing is not to have won but to have fought well’: On Thursday, Fred paid tribute to his Olympic diver daughter Andrea on Twitter
Andrea reunited with Fred, mother Alessandra Spendolini, and other members of her loved ones via video call, following the monumental final at her first ever Olympic games.
The emotional young diver spoke of her pride and emotion at speaking with her family members – who said they were ‘so proud of her’ – and who are unable to attend the games amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a sweet video, Andrea was seen wiping her eyes while her mum spoke to her, as she repeatedly said thank you while she was congratulated following her epic turn on the board.
She said: ‘I am so happy. I was speaking to my family because there is an Athlete Moment screen and I started crying. I am very, very proud of where I came.
Success story: The tweet comes after Andrea broke down in tears as she spoke to her First Dates star father Fred on Zoom after finishing in seventh place
Proud parents alert! Fred and his ex-partner Alessandra Spendolini could not be in attendance due to COVID restrictions yet tuned in via video link as they joyously celebrated their daughter’s win
Incredible achievement: Andrea is the daughter of Fred, the French maître d’ in Channel 4’s First Dates and his ex partner Alex, and she reunited with him and other members of her loved ones via video call, following the monumental final at her first ever Olympic games
‘I was extremely nervous before the prelims so I thought my nerves would get the better of me and I wouldn’t make it to the semi.
‘Then after the semi I got into the final and that was exactly what I wanted to do. That was my plan. I’ve definitely exceeded my expectations.
‘It definitely gives me confidence for Paris (2024). That is very close, so my whole family can come. Hopefully, hopefully COVID has gone because I want my family to come and watch. I am very, very excited.
‘My dad, my mum and my cousins and my aunties were on the Athlete Moment. They said that they were very proud and that I should be proud as well. They said they miss me and I miss them. It just went back and forth.’
Hearts: The emotional young diver spoke of her pride and emotion at speaking with her family members, who are unable to attend the games amid the COVID-19 pandemic (above speaking to father Fred -left and mother Alex – right)
So proud: Andrea’s father Fred looked close to tears as he celebrated her first Olympic games with her mother Alex and loved ones
TV star Fred supported his beloved daughter, who he has nicknamed ‘mon canard’ (my duck), on social media throughout the 10m platform final and her entire competition. He later posted a snap of his daughter captioned: ‘Well done Andrea.’
Spendolini-Sirieix said: ‘He calls it to me as a nickname, I don’t know where it came from. It just stuck.
‘The Olympic experience has been amazing. I’ve got an amazing team and have met so many new people, so many new friends. I definitely didn’t know what to expect coming into the village, but the food was great, I love it.
‘The beds are made of cardboard, people have been complaining. I’ve been sleeping great. I couldn’t ask for a better first Olympics.’
Wow: The diver was hugged by a member of Team GB as she celebrated her achievements with her family
The diver also praised Chinese 14-year-old Hongchan Quan who won the gold medal at the event, while Spendolini-Sirieix’s diving teammate Lois Toulson, 21, finished in ninth place.
She said: ‘She’s 14 and she’s doing stuff like that. I don’t know what to add. When we were warming up and we were waiting to be called out, she was dancing, she was laughing, it looked like she had no nerves. She’s amazing, China are great.’
Spendolini-Sirieix, who is a European bronze medallist, can be proud of a top-10 finish on her Games debut.
Yes! The TV star’s daughter who is a European bronze medallist, can be proud of a top-10 finish on her Games debut, while her British team-mate Lois Toulson came in at ninth
Her second dive in the final was let down by a loose entry – scoring her 51.20 however her final dive was a roaring triumph with a score of 72.00, giving her an impressive overall 305.50.
Toulson meanwhile scored 64.00 in her final dive and rounded out with a final score of 289.60 in total.
It was another teenager who won the gold medal as China’s Quan became the youngest women’s Olympic diving champ in 29 years. She produced three perfect-10 dives to register a score of 466.2 and beat her team-mate Yuxi Chen, 15, who took gold in last week’s 10m synchro. Australian Melissa Wu claimed bronze.
Andrea and her teammate finished in eighth and ninth respectively in the semi-final in the early hours of Thursday morning to progress to the final, which got underway at 7am.
Winner: Chinese 14-year-old Hongchan Quan stole the show and walked away with the Gold medal
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