Tom Daley shares adorable video of two-year-old son cheering him on as he wins gold
Tom Daley (L) and Matty Lee. (Instagram/@TomDaley)
As Tom Daley won silver and gold medals at the European Aquatics Championships this weekend, all he could think about was his husband and son waiting back home.
Daley, 26, took home the silver medal in the 10-metre platform on Sunday (16 May) at the competition held in Budapest, Hungary. And as he won gold alongside Matty Lee for the synchronised 100-metre the day before, his two-year-old son Robbie watched on.
His husband Dustin Lance Black recorded Robbie beaming “that’s my papa” as Daley was on television, uploading the adorable footage onto his Instagram.
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Away from the diving board, and Tom Daley reflected on what a career in sport – and being, at times, hundreds of miles away from his family – means to him.
“I’ve always said that this is a great medal to win but my biggest medal is waiting at home for me – my son and my husband – so I’m very excited to get back to them,” he told Team GB.
“I get to enjoy diving, enjoy performing and competing but what this year has really taught us is what’s important – friends, family and everyone staying healthy.”
It came after Tom Daley scored his personal best with a score of 477.27 points for six dives in the 100-metre. He was beaten only by Russia’s Aleksandr Bondar.
“I started off really strongly but the second dive was a little bit too strong and I landed slightly over from vertical,” Daley said.
“One thing I’ve learned from my years in diving is it’s not over until it’s over. I was way down the rankings but I knew that I could pull it back.
Thumbs up if you just won another medal 👍
A 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒃 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓 for @TomDaley1994 in the 10m platform final 👏
Added to his synchro gold from earlier in the European Champs and that's a pretty good haul 😏 pic.twitter.com/iw7S1b8CDx— Team GB (@TeamGB) May 16, 2021
“I just had to stay in the moment, stay present, stay focused.
“Then in the fifth round, I did the highest-scoring dive I’ve ever done in my diving career but it was a mixed bag in there.”
Looking forward, Daley said he’s eager to get training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which are less than two months away after being postponed due to the pandemic.
“By the time you’re on the diving board,” he said, it’s 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent physical.
“I’m excited to go there and have some fun.”
