ANDREA Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson both made the 10m platform diving final.
But only after each making a mess of one of their five attempts.
Toulson stood joint fifth after her opener but then got her second dive, a reverse 2 ½ somersault which was the easiest of the five routines on her programme, badly wrong to plunge to 14th.
With only the top 12 to qualify, it meant Toulson, girlfriend of three-time Olympic medallist Jack Laugher, could not afford another mistake.
And the 21-year-old from Huddersfield pulled herself together to get back into the top 10 after round three and a terrific fourth effort, an inward three and a half somersault with tuck, earned 72.00pts, her best of the contest.
That moved Toulson up to sixth and another solid dive on her final effort eased her into the final in ninth behind Hongchan Quan of China.
Spendolini-Sirieix, daughter of “First Dates” maitre d’ Fred, served up a mess of a third dive but it did not spoil the entire dish.
The mistake took her out of the top eight and put some pressure on but a terrific last dive secured her passage in eighth place
It’s just great to be here and I’m so grateful to be able to compete.
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix
She said: “I was much more relaxed than yesterday and I definitely had a lot more fun.
“It’s just great to be here and I’m so grateful to be able to compete.”
When pressed on being more relaxed, she added: “It definitely helps with that internal pressure. And it makes a lot easier.
“You’re so much more relaxed and confident when you’re having fun.”
“I always want to do better in every competition. I definitely improved on my prelim score yesterday and I want to improve on my score in the final.
Spendolini-Sirieix’s dad couldn’t help but share his delight at his daughter’s progression to the Olympic final.
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He tweeted: “And onto the final! #tokyo2020 #olympics #diving #platform #10m #teamgb #goAndrea”
A delighted Toulson said: “I’m really proud that me and Andrea have both got through to the final.”
She added: “I’m really enjoying it. I’ve got five more dives, so hopefully I can improve.”
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Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
