- Daley announced his retirement from diving at the age of 30 on Monday
- The 30-year-old clinched his the fifth Olympic medal of his career in Paris
- He accomplished his dream of winning a gold back at the Tokyo Olympics
Tom Daley completed his set of Olympic medals when he won silver alongside Noah Williams in the men’s synchronised 10m platform in Paris.
It was the fifth medal the 30-year-old had won in his five appearances at Games for Team GB, with the first coming at the tender age of 14 in Beijing 18 years ago.
And having completed yet another extraordinary feat, the father of two revealed that he had decided to call time on his career once and for all.
‘It was emotional at the end, up there on the platform, knowing it was going to be my last competitive dive,’ Daley told Vogue. ‘But I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time to call it a day.
‘I’ve spent my whole life doing this and being able to let go of it is going to be hard. It’s going to be a major adjustment.
Tom Daley announced his retirement from diving after winning his fifth Olympic medal in Paris
The 30-year-old completed the set of Olympic medals as he claimed silver alongside Noah Williams in the men’s synchronised 10m platform
‘I would love for people to remember me for being a person that persevered, who persisted and didn’t give up on his dream until he was able to achieve it.
‘To currently be Britain’s most decorated diver, I feel so incredibly proud. When I look back, I’m really, genuinely satisfied with what I’ve done.’
Keen supporters will no doubt be having a sense of deja vu. Daley effectively retired from the sport after he won Olympic gold in Tokyo three years but he returned for Paris for his two children.
He revealed that his son Robbie said he wanted to see his dad dive at the Olympics – something which lit a flame in Daley.
With the next Games in Los Angeles, where he now resides, there is an outside chance we’ll see him again in Team GB diving pants. But if this is to be the end of Daley’s story in a sporting context, it has been an extraordinary ride.
The Plymouth native became a household name when he was just 14, having remarkably qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games. The then-teenager performed admirably and finished eighth in the synchro and seventh in the individual.
The youngster was cheered on in China his dad Robert Daley, who was integral to his development within the sport and his support during the early years of his career. But no sooner has Daley established himself as a fixture on the world stage, he suffered the tragedy of his dad’s death.
Daley was cheered on at the Aquatics Centre by his mum Debbie, husband Dustin Lance Black and their children
The diving sensation tragically lost his dad Robert to brain cancer when he was only 17
Daley made the first of five appearances at the Olympic Games as a 14-year-old in Beijing
Daley Sr died of brain cancer when Tom was only 17-years-old. At the time, he was dreaming of winning an medal with his old man watching at the upcoming home Games.
‘I found it really difficult to process that I was never going to see him again.’
Daley said on This Morning in 2021. ‘Although I knew he was sick and was going to pass away at some point when it actually happened it was so horrible to think about I couldn’t let it sink in that he wasn’t going to see me in London 2012.
‘It was something we had always dreamed of doing together. So it was a very challenging thing to try and overcome.’
London 2012 saw Daley pick up his first of five medals with bronze in the 10m platform. As well as his success at the Olympics during his career, he also holds four world championships, five European championships and is a four-time Commonwealth champion.
While mum Debbie has remained a permanent fixture at events in his dad’s absence, Daley has a much bigger support network, his two children and husband Dustin Lance Black.
Daley, 20-years his husband’s junior, revealed he met the film director at a ‘random dinner’ in Los Angeles, and in December 2013 announced he was dating a ‘guy’ who made him ‘feel so happy’ and ‘so safe’, with the pair going on to marry one another in 2017.
His admission, via a YouTube video, made global headlines and he has served as a powerful figure in the LGBTQ+ community, though he had admitted that the responsibility is occasionally unwanted.
Daley first Olympic medal was won in London. He claimed bronze in the men’s 10m platform
The couple married in 2017 and welcomed their first child a year later after announcing in February 2018 that they were expecting
The happy couple welcomed their second son, Phoenix Rose, on March 28 last year via surrogate
‘I think there is a lot of pressure for when people do come out to be an activist and to be outspoken.’ He told Vogue. ‘And sometimes that’s just not in some people’s nature.’
‘One thing I learned early on is to not care what other people think.’ He said in an interview with Guardian. ‘That’s been useful since I’ve been with my husband. I’m 27, he’s 47.
‘People have their opinions, but we don’t notice the age gap. When you fall in love, you fall in love.’
He added: ‘If anything, Lance is very much the big kid in the house. I consider myself to be an older soul, hence I have nearly 200 houseplants, and I knit, and I like to be able to have conversations with people who have experienced a similar amount as I have.’
The couple welcomed their first child together, a son called Robert Ray, via surrogacy on June 27, 2018, after announcing in February the same year that they were expecting.
They welcomed their second son, Phoenix Rose, on March 28 last year via surrogate
As he mentions, Daley is a huge fan of knitting and crocheting – so much so that he has been spotted making items while sitting in the stands during major events such as the Paris Olympics.
It was at the Tokyo Olympics where Daley was first caught on camera knitting away in the spectator seats as well as under the diving board right before climbing up to his own Olympic dive.
He went on to win gold and credited the craft for helping him with his mindfulness between events.
After the Tokyo Games, he started his own online community and knitting clothing line called ‘Made with Love by Tom Daley’ – which today has over one million followers on Instagram.
Daley is a huge an of knitting and crocheting and he has regularly been spotted making items while sitting in the stands during major events
Daley even released a book called ‘Made with Love: Get hooked with 30 knitting and crochet patterns’.
In an interview with the blog Rowan, Daley said: ‘It was something I started to learn on a trip to Canada from a YouTube video.
‘I was absolutely awful at first, I couldn’t get the hang of it. One of the Australian divers and one of the Russian divers on that trip helped me while we were there and then on the flight home, one of our coaches on the British team gave me some tips and then with a lot of practice I started getting the hang of it.’
