Under the microscope
CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?
I HAVE to run up stairs to the 10m board every day! I do ten minutes of meditation each morning, then twoand-a-half hours’ training in the pool, morning and afternoon, then a yoga or spin class.
GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?
EASILY. I get one in with breakfast, a couple with lunch, one as a snack then two or more in the evening. I enjoy a big plate of green veg.
EVER DIETED?
I ATE whatever I wanted until I was 16 and started putting on weight. I weigh 11 st 1 lb (I’m 5 ft 8 in) but was 7 lb heavier then. I cut carbs completely for two weeks, which is the worst thing I could have done — I felt terrible. I believe in everything in moderation.
ANY VICES?
NOT really. I stopped drinking two years before Rio because alcohol affects your sharpness, weight and health. At the Olympic homecoming party I had a couple of sips of champagne and felt awful!
SLEEP WELL?
I’M OUT like a light. I aim for nine hours because the more you sleep, the more your body recovers.
WORST ILLNESS OR INJURY?
IN 2010 I tore an arm muscle when I hit the water from 10m. It was one of my most painful experiences ever and the next day my arm was black and blue.
POP ANY PILLS?
NO. YOU don’t need multi-vitamins because you can get everything you need from your diet.
HAD ANYTHING REMOVED?
WHEN I was 11 I had too many teeth and had some removed so I could have braces.
EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?
NOT now, but ask me in ten years and it might be different.
COPE WELL WITH PAIN?
I’VE got a pretty high pain threshold because if you’re injured you can’t train. I’m a mind over matter kind of person. I rarely get ill and, unlike my fiance Lance [screen writer and director Dustin Lance Black, 42] who makes sure I know whenever he’s sick, I never feel sorry for myself when I’m unwell.
TRIED ALTERNATIVE THERAPY?
I’M A fan of dry needling — similar to acupuncture but practised by physiotherapists — it relaxes the muscle around soreness and encourages blood flow.
EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?
I WENT through a rough time after winning bronze at London 2012 then coming back to training without much time off. I felt lost and without direction. When I met Lance [in 2013] he was so good at what he did he inspired me to get my act together.
ANY PHOBIAS?
I USED to be afraid of sick — if anyone threw up I’d panic.
LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?
I’D LIKE to stop myself growing older at 27. By 27 you’re old enough to be taken seriously because you have some life experience and not too old to no longer have fun. Tom’s Daily Plan by Tom Daley is published by HarperCollins (£16)