British diver Tom Daley moves the needle in a big way as he has a darn good time with his Olympic kni ing
TOM Daley of Britain has an eternity between events at this year’s Tokyo Olympics: A er winning gold in 10-meter synchronised diving with Ma y Lee on July 26, Daley does not compete again until the 10-metre platform preliminaries today, two days before the Games come to an end.
Daley killed off some of that time by creating a TikTok tour of the Olympic Village that went viral, but the minute-long video hardly put a dent in his sizable block of free time. And so he’s filling his open hours, including time cheering on his teammates at the pool, with the hobby he has described as his ‘secret weapon’: Tom Daley is having a sit and knit.
Further investigation of Daley’s Instagram revealed he was kni ing a Team GB cardigan:
Daley was only 14 years old when he burst onto the scene at the 2008 Beijing Games, finishing seventh in 10-metre platform and eighth in 10-metre synchronised. Now 26, he calls himself the ‘granddad’ of Team Great Britain and told the BBC last year that he took up kni ing to stay sharp during the coronavirus pandemic.
“There are loads of things I’m doing to keep myself going, like yoga and visualisation, but I’ve also taken up kni ing, which could be my secret weapon,” he said. “It’s part of my mindfulness routine, a way of escaping from everything for a while, and I’ve made all kinds of things like scarves and li le hats for my son.”
Daley was first spo ed kni ing in the stands at this year’s Games during the women’s 3-metre springboard final on Sunday, and he continued Monday during the men’s 3-metre springboard preliminaries. He’s so taken up by kni ing that he’s started an Instagram to show off his productions, including a li le pouch for his gold medal ‘to stop it from ge ing scratched’.
He’s also kni ed some doggy sweaters and cat couches, and he knits clothing for humans, too.
Daley already was something of an icon in both the British sports and LGBT communities, having been open about his sexuality for years now. His viral kni ing only will add to that.
“Kni ing has become my way of finding calm, mindfulness, and relieves stress! I love it!” Daley wrote in an Instagram story earlier this week. —The Washington Post