The family of Reading diver Chris Mears believe surviving a life-threatening illness as a schoolboy was the turning point that guided him towards Olympic medal success.

As the 23-year-old celebrated taking gold with his diving partner, best friend and flatmate Jack Laugher in the synchronised three metre springboard competition in Rio, his stepmother said overcoming a ruptured spleen aged 16 had been a “defining moment” in his career.

Mears, from Burghfield Common, was given just a five per cent chance of survival after becoming dangerously ill in 2009.

However, he fought back to partner Laugher to become Britain’s first Olympic diving champions last Wednesday to the delight of their families.

His father and stepmother Paul and Katy Mears spoke to the pair for a few minutes after they dived to victory, and said they had been quietly confident of medal success but did not expect to seize the coveted gold.

Speaking from Rio, they said the win had been “a long time coming” following Mears’ illness, which left the then teenager with a huge decision to make about his sporting future.

Mr Mears, 58, said: “He has this life-changing, or potentially life-changing illness, which obviously took him out of the sport for an extended period.

“Then at the age of 16 he’s got to make a conscious decision: ‘Is this something I want to go back to, or do I just become a ‘normal teenager’ and do my GCSEs?’.

“Although I can’t predict what might have happened had he not been ill, I can say with certainty that having been ill, that was absolutely a turning point that we saw in his attitude towards his sport.”

Mrs Mears, 50, agreed, adding: “He says now looking back he probably didn’t feel as passionate about it at this time because he had been doing it for so long, and then it was taken away from him and he had to make that decision.

“The fact he had to decide to go back to it made him realise what it meant to him.

“And from that moment actually his entire attitude and demeanour changed towards it and that’s where I think the success has come from.

“Obviously it wasn’t a good experience and we nearly lost him and would prefer not to have had it, but I think he looks back and thinks it was the defining moment in his career really.”

Before flying out to Rio, Chris admitted he had been “pretty close to death’s door” six years ago.

“It helped me adapt to this kind of lifestyle as an athlete,” he said.

“That feeling that nothing could be worse than that is a good mindset to have. When you are training and feel you can’t do another dive, it helps me work a bit harder.”

“”At school I was a bit of a joker, it kick-started me to think, ‘this is what’s life’s about - better start doing something now’.”

Mr Mears said he thought his son, who also competed in the London 2012 Games, was able to relax more in Brazil, explaining: “Of course it’s a big event and it’s a big deal but there wasn’t the intense pressure and scrutiny that came with being at home.”

Mrs Mears added: “There have been ups and downs, but they’ve left their best performance to the one that counts, and I think they would trade in every other medal they’ve ever won just for this one.”

Mears’ brother Charlie, 16, and older sister Natalie, 28, were also in Rio to cheer on their sibling.