Grace Reid reckons realising a passion for padel and pickleball propelled her back from the brink to the Paris Olympic Games.

The Scottish diving star, 28, finished 19th in her 3m springboard event in Tokyo and came close to quitting the sport after hitting rock bottom.

But three years on, she’s booked her place back on the Eurostar for next week’s French showpiece and eyeing up a medal on the biggest stage of all.

Reid believes finding a balance away from the board held the key to her recovery and credits other fun-filled activities for getting her back to her best.

“I’m super excited,” she said.

“It’s been a long time coming, a long build-up and I’m really excited to get back there and start the main event of the year.

“The biggest thing after Tokyo was taking some time away and having the support of my friends and family just to deal with that anxiety and depression – and feel like a happy individual away from the pool.

“I’ve been enjoying the small progress I make every day at training, and that has really helped and made me enjoy the bigger picture.

“I love being active, going out for a long walk and finding a new place to have dinner, or playing pickleball and padel.

“I’ve got to be conscious of my sport and I’ve got to be able to perform, but playing that with three friends for an hour is so rewarding mentally, that the benefits far outweigh anything else.”

Asked if she was as talented with a racket in hand as she is off a diving board, Reid laughed: “Definitely not!

“Maybe in the off season when I’m not diving I’ll spend some time and hopefully get a bit better – I’m really competitive and love sport anyway, so exploring that side is amazing.”

Reid went through the wringer at a behind-closed-doors Tokyo as her lowly finish in the individual event was accompanied by sixth-place alongside Katherine Torrance in the synchro.

But three years later and she’s ‘in love’ with the sport again, crediting the influence of long-term coach Alex Rochas for hauling her back up off the canvas.

Reid scooped 3m springboard silver at the recent British Championships and earned the same colour medal in the 1m event at the World Championships in Doha.

And looking ahead to her expectations in Paris, she said: “To me, the fact I’m even on the team after the last few years is a huge achievement for me.

“But I’m not going there to make up the numbers – what’s great about our sport is that everyone starts on zero and I know that if I put all my dives right on the day the I can be pushing for those medals, so that’s the goal.”

Reid will be joined in the French capital by British stalwart Tom Daley, who made a miraculous comeback to book his place at a fifth Games since making his debut as a 14-year-old at Beijing 2008.

Daley, 30, finally grabbed his long-awaited maiden Olympic gold in Tokyo as he and Matty Lee – who will miss Paris with injury – soared to a stunning 10m synchro triumph.

Reid admits his return – inspired by his six-year-old son Robbie wanting to see him dive at an Olympics – has given the rest of the team a boost and she has loved having him by her side in Rio, Tokyo and now Paris.

“I’m so pleased he’s back – he brings so much experience but so much fun as well,” she said of Daley, who will also be part of Eurosport and discovery+ ‘s TV coverage of the Games.

“He’s such a great team member – I’m going into my third Olympics and he’s even more of a veteran going into his fifth, so it’s great to have gone through that with him.

“He’s such a great teammate.”

Watch every moment of Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics