Alexis Jandard of France in action during Tokyo 2020 Olympics' men's diving (3m Springboard) semifinal at Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Credit: Reuters Photo
French diver Alexis Jandard said he was glad to have brought a smile to people's faces after suffering an embarrassing fall during the inauguration ceremony for an Olympic aquatics centre which was attended by President Emmanuel Macron.
Jandard, who previously competed at the Tokyo Olympics, slipped on a board just as he was about to dive alongside two other divers, before awkwardly bouncing off the board and into the water on Thursday.
In an Instagram story, the 26-year-old posted a picture of himself with scrapes on his back.
"I'm fine. I didn't hurt myself, unfortunately these things happen," Jandard told RMC Sport. "It happened at a time when I wasn't expecting it at all."
"I've broken boards before, but the board had never broken me before. Now it has. I would have preferred this ceremony to have gone well from start to finish. There was that little hitch. If it made people smile a little, so much the better.
"We know our sport. We know what it entails. We know that these things can happen... It had to happen in front of the President and the whole of France. I think we chose the right moment."
The diving competition at the Olympics takes place at the Paris Aquatics Centre in July and August.