DIVER TOM DALEY, WHO GREW UP IN THE PUBLIC EYE, NOW GETS GOLD

Tom Daley’s first Olympic diving title adds a golden chapter to a life lived in the public eye, during which he has become one of Britain’s most recognisable athletes and prominent voices on gay rights.

The 27-year-old, along with Matty Lee, took full advantage of some uncharacteristically wayward Chinese diving to win synchronised 10m platform gold on Monday at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games. It was Daley’s first gold—at his fourth Games—to go with the bronzes he won at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Afterwards, having wiped away tears on the podium, Daley said: “Oh my goodness, it’s actually kind of unbelievable. I’ve dreamt of this—as has Matt—since I started diving 20 years ago.”

Daley’s story is a whirlwind tale sprinkled with success but also heartbreak, much of it played out in the glare of publicity. He began diving at the age of seven and there was a media frenzy around him when he competed at the 2008 Beijing Games as a fresh-faced schoolboy of just 14.

A year later, in Rome, Daley won gold at the World Championships to underline his prodigious talent and prove that he could justify the hype. But there were growing pains. He was bullied at school and in 2011 his father, Rob, who did so much to support his diving career, died of cancer aged 40. There was immense pressure on Daley as a home gold medal prospect—and one of the faces—of the London 2012 Games. He did not quite live up to the hype but still won bronze in 10m platform. Daley has said that it was only after the London Games that the death of his father really hit him.

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