Daley: OBE will help in my drive to bring change
TOM DALEY is determined to use his OBE to promote inclusion after being recognised in the New Year Honours.
Daley is being honoured for services to diving, LGBT+ rights and charity after ending his long wait for an elusive Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in July.
Amid tough competition from the Chinese pair of Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen, Daley and diving partner Matty Lee held their nerve to land first place in the men’s synchronised 10metres platform, winning by just 1.23 points.
Daley said: “I’m extremely proud to be honoured with an OBE and it feels like a responsibility to make the whole Commonwealth a better place for LGBT people, for women, for people of colour.
“In accepting this OBE, it’s now my responsibility to try and help create change, and help create this environment where anyone can be who they want, no matter where they came from.”
Daley’s win alongside Lee, who has been given an MBE, was all the more remarkable given Daley revealed just weeks before the Olympics he had to undergo surgery on a knee injury.
But the 27-year-old from Plymouth struck a particular chord in the afterglow of victory when discussing his own journey and acceptance of himself, having come out in 2013.
Daley, who is married to screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, with whom he has a son, Robbie, added: “Accepting an OBE is one thing but accepting it and doing something with it is another.
“I feel it’s really important to lift up all the people who feel like they’re outsiders and don’t fit in and feel like they have been ‘less than’ for so many years – to support them in being what they want to be.”
Daley, who has not ruled out competing at Paris 2024 and could be enticed by the prospect of mixed or team events, was among a record number of LGBT+ athletes in Japan.
Some of the competitors came in for offensive commentary from Russian state TV and, while Daley feels accepted in Britain, he feels much more can be done to achieve acceptance worldwide.
“It’s come a long way,” Daley said after collecting bronze in the men’s 10m platform.
“There’s still a lot further to go. There are 10 countries that are competing at these Olympic Games where being LGBT is punishable by death.
“I feel extremely lucky to represent
Team GB, to be able to stand on the diving board as myself with a husband and a son and not worry about any ramifications.
“But I know that I’m very fortunate to have that and that there are lots of people who grow up around the world with less fortunate situations.”