Count on a mom to know what's really up with her athlete offspring.
The mother of three-time Olympic diver Alexandre Despatie says his accident on the 3-meter springboard in Madrid in June was "way more serious than people know."
Despatie, a two-time silver medalist, lost his balance on takeoff and hit his head on the board in mid-June. His mom, Christiane, says her son needed at least 60 stitches to close an ear-to-ear gash on his scalp.
"It's back to normal," she says.
The Canadian didn't resume training until two weeks ago and was previously sidelined for nine months by a knee injury.
"He was probably the only one believing that he would make it," Christiane Despatie said while visiting the P&G House for mothers of Olympic athletes in London.
Despatie and partner Reuben Ross finished sixth on 3-meter synchro springboard at the London Olympics.
— Beth Harris — Twitter http://twitter.com/bethharrisap
EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.