Tokyo 2020 - ‘Maybe I’ll stick around’ - Tom Daley after becoming first British diver to win four Olympic medals
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 07/08/2021 at 10:31 GMT
Daley won bronze in a brilliant 10m platform final, adding to the gold he claimed in the synchronised event with Matty Lee. He is now 27, older than some of his rivals, but says if the mixed synchro or team event are brought in for Paris 2024, he may go to a fifth Games. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.
'Fabulous!' - GB's Daley wins another medal with bronze in 10m platform
Tom Daley says he may “stick around” if diving introduces a mixed synchronised or team event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 27-year-old became the first British diver to win four Olympic medals with bronze in the 10m platform, adding to the gold he claimed in the synchro event with Matty Lee on the first Monday of the Games.
Daley was involved in a thrilling final, won by Cao Yuan, who produced an exceptional final half of the final to win gold ahead of his Chinese team-mate Yang Jian.
The trio have been fighting it out for medals for around a decade, and the Team GB talisman will take a moment to decide what to do next.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2021/07/26/3182202-65199308-2560-1440.jpg)
'History made!' - Watch incredible moment Daley and Lee realise they're Olympic champions
“If they get the mixed synchro or the team event in, maybe I’ll stick around,” he told Eurosport.
I don’t know to be honest, I'm definitely going to take a break and we’ll see what happens in the next year.
Adding mixed events are thought to be on the agenda, especially following the success of races in swimming and triathlon.
At his fourth Games, Daley has fulfilled his potential to be an Olympic champion, having made his Games debut as a 14-year-old at Beijing 2008. He now has four medals, three of them bronze and one gold.
“If someone had told me I was going to win a gold and a bronze at these Olympic Games, I wouldn’t have believed them to start with.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2021/08/07/3197183-65498928-2560-1440.jpg)
'My husband said maybe my son was meant to watch me become Olympic champion' - Daley
“It’s so surreal to go into two events and win two medals, I remember winning my first one in London and thinking it’s the most incredible thing. To be able to stay on top of my sport for as long as I have, I just feel proud of myself and I just have a lot of people to thank.”
Since Rio, Daley has got married to Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and the couple have also had a son, Robbie. He says the change in family dynamic has completely changed his outlook on sport.
“My son and my husband are the two most important people on the planet for me and my family are the most important thing and when you have that kind of perspective you know that if you do really well, or terribly in the pool, they’re going to love you regardless,” he said.
That takes so much pressure off me and I’m able just to enjoy it. The fact that they got to watch this, Rio for me was an absolutely awful Olympics, I got a medal in the synchro but the individual was terrible, my husband did say to me that maybe your son was meant to watch you become an Olympic champion, and he did.
Poolside, Daley has also gained himself a reputation for knitting between his rounds and while watching his team-mates in action, even producing a brilliant Team GB cardigan which will be sold to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity, a tribute to his dad who died of the disease.
“I think people think I represent team Great Knitting,” he said.
“I love knitting, I’ve been doing it for a long time, I’ve been doing it in competition this year, it’s a great way for me to find my focus, find my calm, distract myself from the competition.
"It’s a long time to be here for the Olympic Games and you can’t really mix because of Covid, so being able to have something to focus on is something I’ve really enjoyed.”
--
Watch every unmissable moment live from Tokyo 2020 across Eurosport, the Eurosport app and discovery+. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement