'Dream Come True' for Chester born Yasmin Harper as she claims first medal for Team GB at Olympics

Great Britain's Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen with their bronze medals. PA
Great Britain's Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen with their bronze medals Credit: PA

Divers Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen have won Team GB's first medal of the Olympic Games 2024.

The pair made history with the first GB women's diving medal in 64 years when they claimed bronze in a dramatic women's three-metre synchronised springboard final on Saturday in Paris.

For Chester born Harper, 23, it was a special present as she celebrates her birthday tomorrow. She said: "It's basically a dream come true, and it's all we've worked towards for the last year. So to come away with the medal feels really, really amazing."

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Her father said he is "incredibly proud", describing the moments before she clinched bronze as an "absolute nerve-racker".

Sean Harper, said his daughter - who celebrates her 24th birthday on Sunday - had worked hard to "fulfil her dream".

He told BBC News: "She chose not to go to university so that she could fulfil her dream, and she also turned down an offer to go to America, so she has stuck by it; she's always wanted to represent her country at the Olympics.

"During Covid as well, when our front lounge was turned into a little mini-gym, she's stuck by her dream, all the way through - she's always wanted to represent her country at this level - today is just an amazing, amazing day for her.

"As a family, you can imagine we're incredibly proud."

Mr Harper said his daughter was "very determined" and would not be able to "properly" celebrate her 24th birthday until her Games is over, as she gears up for the individual 3m springboard event, which begins with the preliminaries on August 7.

She plans to head back to London to train because the Paris pool is "a little busy", he said, and will return next week.

Great Britain's Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen during the Women's Synchronised 3m Springboard Final. Credit: PA

Mew Jensen, 22, said it was "crazy" to win a bronze medal and she was "super proud" of the performance.

"We've worked insanely hard, and we couldn’t have come away with a better outcome," she said.

"The group of girls we have on this team are unmatched. I'm not worried about any of the girls.

"I think they will deliver over the next couple of days. I'm super excited for the rest of the team – we started the ball rolling, so let's keep it going."

A tricky third round saw the duo plummet down the scoreboard into sixth after scoring 63.90, but they quickly improved with the following dive, scoring 71.10 to claw their way back into fourth.

Harper and Mew Jensen scored 70.68 in the final round and the battle for bronze was on with Australian pair Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith.

A slip on the diving board in the final round by the Australians saw them post only 48.60, paving the way for Harper and Mew Jensen to place third.

Although Team GB's place on the podium was all but sealed, Harper later admitted she still had an eye on the scoreboard to confirm their final position.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised the women, posting on X, formerly Twitter: "Congratulations Yasmin and Scarlett on winning the first medal for @TeamGB."

China’s Yani Chang and Yiwen Chen eased to gold with a consistent performance that saw them finish first across the five rounds, while USA pair Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook claimed silver.