- Natalya Diehm’s mother has spoken candidly about a chance meeting in Paris
- She was approached by a group of men at the Eiffel Tower
- She wished her daughter would win a medal at the Olympics
Natalya Diehm’s mother has revealed how an encounter with tourists under the Eiffel Tower could help her daughter win bronze in Paris.
The Australian delivered the performance of her life by beating some big names and reaching the podium at the Olympicswhile a good friend and star of Team USA botched her final run and gave Diehm bronze.
It was a proud and emotional moment for the Diehm family, who had flown to Paris to see Natalya win her medal.
But for her mother Tamara, a chance meeting just before the final meant her Olympic wish came true.
She told Nine she was wearing glitter to celebrate her birthday, and then a group of men got talking and asked if she was an angel.
“I said ‘no I’m not, it’s my birthday,’ and he asked ‘what do you wish for?’ And I’ve never been asked what I wish for, and I always said ‘I wish for my daughter to make it to the stage,’ and she did,” she told Eddie McGuire.
“I knew what the scenario was and I knew Hannah Roberts is one of Nat’s best friends and I knew Hannah was the deciding factor, whether Natalya got the medal or came fourth. So it was double and double… I was obviously overwhelmed with emotion.”
Natalya Diehm’s mother Tamara has revealed how she had a chance meeting in Paris
BMX freestyler’s mother wished her daughter would be on the podium at the Olympics
Diehm finished third behind Chinese winner Yawen Deng (92.60) and American silver medalist Perris Benegas (90.70), but had to watch with crossed fingers as a number of top riders tried but failed to better her best of two runs. She scored 88.80 points.
She had qualified in eighth place, but saved her best for the final. She immediately ended her career as second starter with her excellent opening run, which earned her more than two and a half points more than anything she had shown on Tuesday.
She couldn’t do any better on her second run, scoring 87.70, but three of her main rivals crashed or retired early on the final run, leaving Diehm to celebrate the biggest moment of her injury-plagued career.
It was only four years ago that she almost quit the sport due to lack of money and injuries.
