2024-08-13 06:40:45
Tom Daley was one of the most famous British athletes at the Olympic Games. But the competition in Paris was also his last.
British diver Tom Daley has announced his retirement. The Olympic champion from Tokyo (2021) is retiring after a total of four Olympic Games and five medals. In an interview with Vogue magazine, he said: “It feels very, very surreal.”
He said he was “incredibly nervous” knowing that the Games in Paris would be his last. “There was a lot of pressure and expectations. I really wanted it to be over,” he said, describing the tension before his final competition, but added: “When I walked out and saw my husband (Lance, ed.) and my children (Robbie and Phoenix, ed.), my friends and my family in the audience, I thought: You know what? This is exactly why I did this. I’m here, and no matter what happens in the competition itself, I’m going to be happy.”
He then won silver in the synchronized diving from the 10-meter springboard with Noah Williams. “In the end, it was very emotional to stand up there on the platform and know that it would be my last competitive dive,” he continued, but also said: “At some point I had to make this decision and it feels like the right time.”
The 30-year-old’s Olympic career began on home soil. In 2012 he was in London and won bronze from the 10-meter springboard. Another bronze medal followed in Rio de Janeiro, this time in synchronized diving. In Tokyo he even won gold (synchronized) and bronze (individual). In Paris he was even allowed to be the British flag bearer and crowned his last Games with the silver medal – the only one he was still missing.