From being the youngest member of Team GB at the 2008 Olympics to the oldest medal winner in his event.
From a 14-year-old student in Beijing to participating in Paris with the inspiration that fuels his longevity watching from the stands – his children.
The Tokyo 2020 10m synchronized platform title could not be defended – Chinese rivals were far superior this time – but Tom Daley was certainly pleased with silver.
This five-time Olympic champion now has five medals with a full set.
But in the run-up to Beijing 2008, the student sensation was telling me that he was simply happy to be recognized at Starbucks and given a free Chocolate Frappuccino.
He said in our first interview: “It’s very strange to think that people respect you and recognize you for what you do.”
Something he certainly had to get used to, not being a face of British sport, but of world diving as its biggest star.
Now, 16 years later, we were chatting – with diving partner Noah Williams – at Team GB’s home in Paris with silver medals won hours earlier reflecting on the journey.
“It’s everything between coming back from 2008 and not really knowing what the scale and grandeur of the Olympics was, to then being able to get through it and win medals along the way,” Daley told Sky News.
“But this time it feels a little different. I have a different perspective on what the Olympics mean to me.
“For now, my family is the most important thing and being able to compete in front of them and for them was very special.”
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‘When your child asks you to do something, you do it’
Three-year-old Phoenix was celebrating in Paris in the arms of Daley’s husband, Dustin Lance Black, along with her other son, five-year-old Robbie, who was desperate to see his father at the Olympics in person.
That’s why, after a two-year break, Daley put his body and mind through another grueling Olympic cycle.
“When your child asks you to do something, you do it or else – like all hell breaks loose,” Daley said. “So it was just one of those things that I missed diving… and there was a reason I didn’t say I was done [after Tokyo].
“I always felt like there was something I was always holding on to.
“And it’s very difficult for an athlete to be able to say, ‘Naturally I’m done.’
“And Robbie saying, ‘Oh, I want to see diving at the Olympics’ was the perfect hook for me to say, okay, he said that, I’m out.
“And I didn’t know if I would be able to get back into the synchronized team. We didn’t know if we would qualify for the Olympics.
“But actually, when things started moving and we realized we were doing really well. And in every event we did this year, we won a medal. “
Daley and Williams during the men’s synchronized 10m platform final. Photo: PA
‘Tokyo was a very different kind of Olympics’
And happy to do it at the Olympics again in front of a crowd, after Daley finally won gold at the pandemic Games in an empty venue.
“It also feels kind of surreal to be here at the fifth Olympic Games and be able to dive in front of a crowd again because Tokyo was a very different kind of Olympics,” Daley said. “So, being able to have another outing and come away with silver and be with Noah was really special.
‘I cried a lot today’
It was emotional for Williams too.
At this high point in his career – after missing out on a medal in Tokyo – the 24-year-old was remembering coach Dave Jenkins, who died suddenly between the Olympics.
Williams told Sky News: “I cried a lot today.
“I didn’t think so, but receiving messages from his wife and also his family made me very proud and happy. And I feel like I finally made him proud.”
‘I wanted to give up so many times when I was younger’
Without Jenkins’ support, Williams wouldn’t even be in Paris.
“I wanted to give up so many times when I was younger, but he stuck with me and took me from an arrogant 15-year-old to an Olympian in Tokyo,” Williams recalled.
“So he helped my career and my whole life enormously. And he was the nicest person I ever met. I miss him every day.”
With the medal hanging proudly around his neck, Williams said, “It’s definitely for Dave.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
