Grace Reid narrowly misses out on Commonwealth Games medal

A year ago Grace Reid would have been reeling from such a near miss.

The Edinburgh diver fell a long way short of retaining her Commonwealth 1m springboard title, finishing fourth in Birmingham narrowly shy of a medal.

A few months back that result would have floored the Olympian, 26, but not since a transformation in her outlook in and out of the pool.

Reid said: “After Tokyo I took some time off and wasn’t enjoying the sport at all. It was a really, really tough time.

“I fell apart first. Sometimes I think you have to break in order to realise what needs fixing. There were a lot of things in my life that needed fixing.

“I found happiness away from the pool. My life doesn’t end coming fourth today and that perspective is so important.

“It’s also made me hungrier. I’m less pressurised in lots of ways and that relaxed approach is allowing me to have fun. It’s all a game for me at the moment.”

This summer, Team Scotland, supported by funding raised by National Lottery players, compromises of over 250 athletes, all vying for medal success.

Reid’s 1m victory at Gold Coast 2018 was Scotland’s first Commonwealth diving gold medal.

Her medal ambitions here were given an early jolt when she scored only 49.45 on her first dive, leaving her ninth.

She recovered with a strong third dive and her final effort, a forward two-and-a-half somersault, was the joint-best in the field.

It wasn’t enough to propel her onto the podium as she landed on 268.15 points with English teenager Amy Rollinson taking bronze with 272.

Gold was won by Canada’s Mia Vallee and silver by Brittany O’Brien of Australia.

Reid added: “It’s frustrating, no-one likes ending up fourth. I feel like I’ve dived really consistency through the day and I’m taking the positives from that.

“I wouldn’t say that was my absolute best today but I’d say there’s more to give and that’s really exciting. I’m glad I’ve got some more events to sharpen up and see how it goes.”

Reid’s team-mate Clara Kerr finished eighth in the same competition on her Team Scotland debut.

Earlier there was another near miss for James Heatly as he finished fourth in the men’s 3m springboard synchro alongside Ross Beattie.

Having won bronze at Gold Coast 2018 Heatly finished fourth in the 1m springboard competition and was back on the board aiming for better the next morning.

The 25-year-old and partner Beattie were an agonising 5.25 points shy of a medal, narrowly missing out to Australia’s Samuel Fricker and Shixin Li.

Beattie said: “I’m pretty upset to be that close. It felt like we were doing really well but I made a small mistake on our fifth round dive and that cost us a bit.”

Beattie has suffered from a spate of knee injuries in recent months that has hampered the pair’s preparations.

Heatly has a final chance to reach the rostrum with today’s 3m springboard event.

Heatly said: “It’s a bit annoying to finish fourth twice, but you can either dwell on it and let you bring it down or you can try to bounce back. Every failure you can turn into a lesson.”

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