Tonia Couch
Personal information
Full nameTonia Couch
NationalityBritish
Born (1989-05-20) 20 May 1989
Plymouth, Devon, England
OccupationDiving coach
Height166 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
ClubPlymouth Diving
Coached byAndy Banks
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2012 Eindhoven10 metre synchro
Silver medal – second place2013 Rostock10 metre synchro
Silver medal – second place2016 London10 m platform
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place2014 Glasgow10 m platform synchro

Tonia Couch (born 20 May 1989) is a former British Olympic diver.

Biography

Tonia Couch was born in Plymouth. She had been a fairly accomplished competitive gymnast when she participated in diving for a "trial" in September 1999. Just four weeks later, she won her first competition, a novice event at Crystal Palace in London. In February 2002, she became the youngest girl ever to qualify for the lottery funded Junior Olympic Programme, when she took bronze in the Junior girls platform event at the British Championships. It was at that point that her talent on the platform was really recognised.

She participated at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, finishing 25th in the 10 m platform in both.[1]

In 2008 and 2009, her eighth-place finishes at the Olympics and the World Championships, the best result by a British female for 20 years, secured her place in British diving history.

She competed at the 2009 World Championships in Rome and at her second Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi. At the 2010 Commonwealth games her 10m synchro partnership with Sarah Barrow gained fourth place.

Couch reached the World final again in 2011, finishing ninth in the 10m platform. In synchro partnership with Sarah Barrow, the pair finished fourth.

The duo won the European gold and World Cup bronze in 2012, and a finished in fifth-place[2] in front of a home crowd at the London 2012 Olympics.

In the 2013 season, she reclaimed the British 10m platform title, and competed at her fifth consecutive World Championships in the summer, finishing ninth in the 10m platform and fifth with Barrow in the 10m synchro."[3]

In the 2014 season she finished fourth at the World Cup in Shanghai, then combined with Barrow to win a silver medal at the Commonwealth games held in Glasgow, 2014.[3][4]

At the March 2015 World Series in Dubai, Couch took third place in the 10m platform event.[5][6] She won the overall title of Diving World Series champion for the 10m platform, after winning four bronze medals in the series.[7] She and Sarah Barrow also won two bronzes and a silver in the synchro event.[7] She participated in the World Championships in Kazan, reaching 8th in the 10 m platform event and 6th in the 10 m synchro event with Sarah Barrow.[1] This helped Team GB to secure a quota place at the 2016 Olympics.[8]

In 2016, Couch appeared on Deal or no Deal on Tour as a box-opener.[9]

Couch participated in 10m platform diving in Diving World Series 2016 in Kazan in April 2016 and won a silver medal with a score of 365.90, less than two points behind the gold winner Qian Ren. Her best dive was an inward 3 1/2 somersaults in pike position (DD 3.2) which got a score of 81.60.[10]

In the Rio Olympics, Couch and Lois Toulson won fifth place in synchronized 10m platform with a score of 319.44.[11][12] Couch also competed in 10m platform and reached the finals, finishing in 12th place with a score of 323.70.[13]

She participated in Diving World Series 2017 Beijing between 3–5 March 2017 competing in the Women's synchronised 10m, teamed with Toulson and finishing in fifth place with a score of 294.72.[14] Couch participated in the Diving World Series 2017 between 9 - 11 Mar 2017 in Guangzhou, again teamed with Lois Toulson and finishing in 5th place with a score of 308.16 in the 10m synchronized platform diving.[15] On 31 March 2017 Couch and Toulson competed in the Diving World Series 2017 in Kazan, again finishing in fifth place in the 10m platform synchronized diving with a score of 269.58.[16]

She qualified for the World Championships in 2016, competing in the synchronised 10 m platform event with Toulson.[1]

Following her retirement,[17] Couch received a special recognition award at the British Diving Championships on 26 January 2018.

Diving achievements

Competition 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Olympics, 10m synchro8th5th5th
Olympics, 10m platform8th12th
FINA World Championship, 10m synchro10th9th4th5th6th 7th
FINA World Championship, 10m platform25th25th8th9th9th8th
European Championship, 10m platform6th5th 2nd
European Championship, 10m synchro1st2nd5th
Commonwealth Games, 10m synchro4th4th2nd
Commonwealth Games, 10m platform7th8th5th
European Champions Cup, 10m synchro4th3rd
FINA Diving Grand Prix, 10m platform5th5th9th3rd5th9th
FINA Diving Grand Prix, 10m synchro5th3rd3rd
FINA World Cup, 10m platform11th
FINA World Cup, 10m synchro4th3rd
World Junior Championship, 10m platform19th15th
European Junior Championship, 10m platform17th10th8th
British Championship, 10m synchro1st2nd2nd1st1st1st
British Championship, 10m platform1st3rd2nd2nd1st2nd
British Gas National Cup, 10m synchro1st
British Gas National Cup, 10m platform2nd2nd

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tonia Couch". British Swimming. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  2. ↑ "BBC Sport - London 2012 Olympics - Tonia Couch : Great Britain & N. Ireland, Diving". Bbc.co.uk. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Tonia Couch profile page | British Swimming". Archived from the original on 15 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "Couch secures fourth in Shanghai". British Swimming. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Tom Daley & Tonia Couch win World Series medals in Dubai". BBC Sport. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "FINA/NVC Diving World Series 2014 - Dubai (UAE)". www.fina.org. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Couch excited about Kazan Worlds". British Swimming. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Couch equals World best in Kazan". British Swimming. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Episode 2". Deal or no Deal on Tour. 13 December 2016. Channel 4.
  10. ↑ "Results | fina.org - Official FINA website". fina.org. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  11. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: GB's Tonia Couch & Lois Toulson fifth in synchronised 10m platform". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "Rio 2016 synchronized diving 10m platform women - Olympic Diving". International Olympic Committee. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  13. ↑ "Rio 2016 10m platform women - Olympic Diving". International Olympic Committee. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "FINA/NVC Diving World Series 2017 #1 results Beijing (CHN) | fina.org - Official FINA website". fina.org. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  15. ↑ "Results | fina.org - Official FINA website". fina.org. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  16. ↑ "Results | fina.org - Official FINA website". fina.org. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  17. ↑ "Couch calls time on diving career". British Swimming. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
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