Chris Mears: I came out of a coma and knew I had to go for Olympics, says diver

For Chris Mears, the experience of falling into a coma “kickstarted” his ambition to qualify for the Olympics.

The diver, 23, was given a five per cent chance of survival in 2009 after contracting the Epstein-Barr virus, which led to the rupture of his spleen. He pulled through but fell into a coma lasting three days. Mears, who will today go for gold in the 3m synchronised diving with Jack Laugher, said: “It made me think about what I wanted to do with my life and what I wanted to achieve.

“Because at this stage I was a kid and not really trying very hard at school and not trying very hard at training and kind of just bumming along. I think a lot of people do that but need a kickstart, and that’s what it gave me — it made me think, ‘Okay, I want to try to make the Olympic Games’.”

Mears, left, who learned gymnastics at a young age before switching to diving, came ninth at London 2012 on the 3m springboard and fifth in the 3m synchronised.

The diver, who was born in Reading, lost his mother to cancer when he was only two. He said: “Cancer Research is my charity. It’s something I’m very passionate about.

“I was two years old when she passed away but it’s nice to look back at photos and stuff of her and have her as a cherished memory. Obviously I think she’d be proud of me and a lot of things that I do, I do think about her, but you just have to move forwards and not look back too much.”

Mears’s diving team-mates Tonia Couch and Lois Toulson missed out on a bronze medal last night, finishing fifth in the women’s 10m synchronised platform with China topping the podium.