British diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix gives glory to God after winning Olympic medal
British diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix gave "glory to God" after she won a bronze medal in the Summer Olympics last week and said God has more work for her to do after missing out on a medal this week.
Spendolini-Sirieix, 19, and Lois Toulson, 24, won Great Britain's third diving medal at the Paris Games. The swim duo also secured third place in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform.
In an interview with BBC after the medal ceremony, Spendolini-Sirieix, the daughter of "First Dates" star Fred Sirieix, expressed how thankful she is for the medal.
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"I'm so happy. I usually have so much to say; I don't have anything to say today," Spendolini-Sirieix said.
"Having my family here, doing it alongside Lois, it's been a crazy two years. I give glory to God."
During the pair's final dive, they beat competitors from Canada. China took home gold, and North Korea won silver.
"It's always a roller-coaster with you girls. You really took me around the bend and through the mill, but that last dive was spectacular. I'm just in awe with what they have achieved. I'm so proud, so proud, I'm bursting," Spendolini-Sirieix's father, Fred Sirieix, told BBC.
Spendolini-Sirieix competed in the individual 10-meter platform dive on Monday, finishing in sixth place and missing out on a medal. While very emotional in an interview afterward, the diver told BBC that she has no reason to hang her head, like she would have done three years ago.
"Obviously, it wasn't the result that I wanted, but I'm not even upset with the competition, the girls dove amazing. They dove better than me today, and it's because they work really hard," she said, according to Wales Online.
"I'm genuinely not trying to be macho or anything; I'm not upset with my performance. Three years ago, I didn't even want to be alive, so today, I'm just happy that I'm alive, I'm breathing, and I've got my family to support me."
Spendolini-Sirieix first competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where she suffered from a case of the "twisties," a mental block that can disorient divers and gymnasts while in the air. As a result, the diver suffered from severe mental health challenges following the Tokyo Olympics.
"It has been a really long year, and it doesn't take away from my accomplishments this year, and just missing out on one medal doesn't change who I am," she said, according to Premier. "It was just God's way of saying we've still got a lot more to do, and I just give God all the glory."
Spendolini-Sirieix isn't afraid to share her faith publicly.
In February, she shared Matthew 19:26 on her Instagram page, which reads: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
In the post, Spendolini-Sirieix detailed how, over the past few months, Jesus has often encouraged her during stressful Olympic training moments.
"Dealing with pressure can feel insurmountable like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Pressure steals your present joy and peace, replacing it with panic, anxiety and a taunting image of possible embarrassment. Jesus is my escape from pressure," Spendolini-Sirieix wrote.
"That weight on my shoulders is not mine to carry, it's already been carried for me. I breathe for a moment. Taking my thoughts of unnecessary pressure captive and remind myself of what is possible. I can do it. It is possible because I 'can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,' (Philippians 4:13). No amount of pressure will be able to freeze you in a state of fear. Rise to the occasion, [jumping higher], spin faster and have faith that you can do it," she continued.
"Pressure is scared of what you can achieve. Don't let pressure win the battle for your mind. Breathe for a moment and rest. You. Got. This. 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,' Matthew 11:28."
In a late May Instagram post, the young swimmer paraphrased 2 Corinthians 12:10 by writing: "For when I am weak, then am I strong."
The entire verse states: "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Spendolini-Sirieix shared how training was tiring, but she was able to rely on God for strength.
"To say the season so far has been tiring is an understatement. Traveling, jet lag and constantly being on the road and away from home is exhausting, but God is my strength," Spendolini-Sirieix said.
"I'm looking forward to letting my mind rest, my body recover and using the 8 weeks before the Olympics to grow and tidy up my dives. I give God all the glory for this week in Birmingham. It wasn't my cleanest performance, but it's a great foundation for the weeks leading to Paris."
Nicole VanDyke is a reporter for The Christian Post.
