Gary Hunt may have been born in the UK, but he now represents France
Gary Hunt gave up on his Olympic dreams in his early 20s after losing a competition to 12-year-old Tom Daley and 11-year-old Jack Laugher. But now, three decades after he first took up the sport and having established himself as the greatest cliff diver of all time, Hunt finally fulfilled his Olympic dream – and in front of a home crowd in Paris to boot.
His story then came full circle at the Aquatics Centre in Paris, as Hunt went up against Daley one last time, competing alongside Lois Szymczak in the men’s synchronised 10m platform. “I’d rather quickly put 10-metre behind me. I saw this career ahead of me of 27 metres. For many years, I thought it would be impossible to go back to 10-metre. I didn’t even get to come to London 2012 to watch the Games because I had chicken pox.
They were greeted to huge cheers with every dive, but so was adopted Frenchman Hunt, whose initial reason for returning to the pool was as much psychological as patriotic. “Now my wife is French, it just felt natural for me. And then with Paris, the Olympics, that lit a lightbulb in my head. Maybe? Maybe I can dust off the 10-metre dives.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Meet the Brit who made his Olympic debut for France at Paris 2024Gary Hunt may have been born in the UK, but he now represents France
Read more »
Olympic swimming: France's Leon Marchand wins 400m medley gold in Olympic record timeFrance's Leon Marchand dominates the 400m individual medley to win gold in a new Olympic record time.
Read more »
Olympic swimming: France's Leon Marchand wins 400m medley gold in Olympic record timeFrance's Leon Marchand dominates the 400m individual medley to win gold in a new Olympic record time.
Read more »
Olympic swimming: Adam Peaty departs content on night of pure Olympic emotionAdam Peaty is denied in his bid for gold but, on a night of pure Olympic emotion, departs content after the dark places he has been.
Read more »
Team GB claim first Olympic medal in Paris – meet the divers who won bronzeScarlett Mew Jensen and Yasmin Harper won the bronze medal in the women's synchronised 3m springboard diving at the Paris 2024 Olympics after a dramatic final dive
Read more »
Meet the Olympic Uniform Designers Who Won Over the InternetTalking to the designers of the Olympics Opening Ceremony uniforms from Mongolia, Haiti, and the Czech Republic about their striking looks.
Read more »