Three-time Olympian Tonia Couch will be “looking after” her 16-year-old diving partner as the pair bid for glory in Rio tonight.
At 27, Couch is an old hand compared with Lois Toulson, who is making her Olympic debut in the 10m synchronised dive.
Couch, who won silver in the individual 10m platform at this year’s European Championships, said: “We’re really excited. For Lois, it’s her first Olympics. I’m a lot older than her so hopefully I can look after her.
“To be honest, it comes naturally, I make sure everyone’s okay anyway. It’s not like I’m a mother person — I always just ask if people are alright.
“For me, it will be my third Olympics, but it’s exciting because this is a new sync partner. We just want to embrace the moment. We’re just going to go in there and love every single minute of it.”
The Plymouth diver added: “When you go in there enjoying it and smiling you tend to dive better. If we’re stood at the back panicking and biting our fingernails, we’re not going to dive very well.”
Couch will also have another chance to land a medal in the women’s 10m platform next week. “Now I’m older, I feel in my peak at the moment,” she said. “The last two years have been really good, I got silver at the Europeans, I feel like everything’s coming together.”
A close friend of fellow Team GB diver Tom Daley, she took up the sport after an elbow injury at the age of 10 ended her bid to become a gymnast.
“After my gymnastic injury they said I’d never be able to put weight on my elbow ever again, and I kind of wanted to prove them wrong,” she said.
“Someone said to my mum, ‘Why doesn’t she try diving?’ and I went off and loved it. It was friendly, it just seemed so relaxed. Everything happens for a reason. I’m glad I hurt myself that day.”
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