We spend so much time talking about the medallists during the Olympics that it’s easy to forget how disappointing it can be for those who just miss out. That’s why a clip of First Dates star Fred Sirieix comforting his daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix – who came sixth in the 10m diving final – is so emotional.
In the video, 19-year-old Andrea is tearful during press interviews after the final but luckily her dad is right by her side with his arm around her. Fred says, ‘It’s sport. Some days you win and some days you lose. Yesterday, you did brilliant.'
He then proceeds to show his daughter all of the texts he’s received in admiration of her, including one from a friend who said Andrea has inspired his daughter to start diving.
The maître d' then said, ‘You did your best, Andrea. It wasn’t meant to be today’ before giving her an emotional father-daughter hug. The BBC captioned the video, ‘What dads are for. This was a beautiful moment between Fred Sirieix and his daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix.’
People were quick to flood the comments section calling the clip 'Dad goals', 'such an emotional moment' and another said 'Andrea was brilliant throughout and will be an inspiration to many.'
Andrea’s famous dad, who appeared on last year's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, has been part of the BBC commentary team at the Paris Olympics and fans have loved watching him interact with Andrea during the diving events.
Of course, it must be incredibly emotional for all competitors once their Olympics experience ends – whether they leave with a medal or not. The Paris Olympics has delivered no shortage of tearful moments, including post-event interviews, medal celebrations, heartbreak and plenty of moving viral clips of athletes supporting one another.
Luckily for Andrea, she won’t be flying home empty-handed. She already won bronze in the 10m synchronised diving with her partner Lois Toulson, and naturally Fred was ‘bursting with pride, joy and happiness'. Even so, her disappointment at missing out on a medal was a raw moment of emotion anyone could relate to.
It serves as a reminder that these athletes are also just people – people who have put years of time, effort and mental resilience into gruelling training schedules for just a few minutes in the competition.
Right after her final dive, which left her in sixth place, Andrea gave another emotional interview about her performance. She said, ‘Obviously it wasn’t the result that I wanted but I’m not even upset with the competition, the girls were amazing and they were better than me today and it’s because they work really hard.
'As you said, it wasn’t meant to be. Genuinely, I’m 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 and breathing and I’ve got my family to support me.’
‘I’m so happy to be here. To be at the Olympic Games. It’s been a really long year and it doesn’t take away from my accomplishments and just missing out on one medal doesn’t change who I am.’
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, covering TV, celebrity interviews, news and features.