Olympic diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix says she will use her newfound courage to call out anyone who objectifies an athlete for simply wearing their uniform.
Spendolini-Sirieix was just 16 when she reached the the 10m platform final on her Olympic debut three years ago in Tokyo, and has since secured individual 2022 Commonwealth and European titles and a bronze this year that made her the first British woman in world diving championships history to secure a medal in an individual Olympic event.
The soon-to-be journalism student has also written candidly about what was once a destructive relationship with food and body image, one she says has got “a lot better” after shedding internalised stereotypes and embracing self-acceptance.
“I feel like now I’m a lot braver to actually call it out, but I’ve had DMs which I’ve blocked and deleted messages where people have (said) ‘You aren’t a good role model for the way you wear your costume’,” Spendolini-Sirieix told the PA news agency.
“The fact that I’m throwing myself over 10 metres should be enough to start a conversation. If you’re honing in on my costume, it’s very telling about how you’ve conditioned your mind.
“When I see volleyball players (or) people in my sport who are overly sexualised, I kind of feel disgusted by that.
“We’ve dedicated our lives to this. We’re not doing this so you can tell us we look good. We know we look good! We work for these bodies.
“People need to wake up. We can’t change our costumes, but they can change the way that they think.”
Growing up in an “aesthetic” sport, Spendolini-Sirieix, 19, found it difficult not to absorb the incorrect assumption that divers needed to be small, with thin frames and flat stomachs, and put pressure on herself to look a certain way.
She said: “From such young age, from the age of eight, I was already very exposed with my costume and everything.
“I feel like even now, sometimes I struggle with… I don’t want people to just tune in because they think, ‘Oh, these girls are good-looking, so I’m not looking at the sport, I’m looking at their bodies’.
“I’m not going to dive in a wetsuit. I refuse. I know I’m not wearing this costume to attract attention, I’m not wearing it for the eyes of men or other people.
“For people to almost assume that women in sport and men in our sport as well wear these costumes so they can get attention is rude and insensitive to the hard work we actually put in.”
Spendolini-Sirieix, an ambassador by Team GB partner Toyota, is aware the spotlight is shining brighter on her in Paris, where she has cemented herself as one to watch, than it did in Tokyo.
She feels particularly “honoured” by the opportunity she now has to serve as a role model for younger athletes, spreading a gospel of self-love and the importance of understanding the science behind why their bodies change.
Surrounding herself with family, “angel” best friend Ben, and staying steered by her Christian faith has helped the multilingual Londoner with an Italian mum and a French father – her dad is First Dates maitre d’ Fred Sirieix – remain grounded while the rest of the world wants to prematurely propel Spendolini-Sirieix onto an Olympic podium in one of the three countries she calls “home”.
“I just need a small circle,” she added. “I feel like I’ve really grown in communicating my needs. It takes courage to communicate, because you put your heart on the line.
“Success to me doesn’t equate to medals. I want to go there focused and determined and joyful. I want to come back feeling like I made the most of it, I gave it my everything.
“A competition doesn’t define who I am but I really want to make memories. Without those memories, those medals are worthless.”
:: Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix is a sports ambassador for Toyota GB supporting the Start Your Impossible campaign