Olympic champion Tom Daley wins yet another medal
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 07: Thomas Daley of Team Great Britain looks on in the Men’s 10m Platform Final on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on August 07, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Tom Daley has won his fourth-ever Olympic medal after scoring bronze in the individual men’s 10-metre platform in Tokyo.
The beloved British diver, who somersaulted into the nation’s hearts in 2008, competed in what may have been his final Olympic dive at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Saturday (7 August).
It was a trying time for the 27-year-old, who – after a stellar opening dive – somewhat floundered at the halfway mark, leading to the Chinese Yang Jian and Cao Yuan picking up silver and gold.
Daley ended the finals with a triumphant 546.25 – some 30 points ahead of his Russian counterpart Aleksandr Bondar, who finished in fourth place.
A bronze today marks the second medal Tom Daley has struck in this year’s Games following his nail-biting performance at the men’s synchronised diving that ended with him scooping up the long-fabled gold medal.
🥉 @TomDaley1994 wins bronze 🥉
Daley wins a second medal of #Tokyo2020 after a thrilling 10m platform diving final.#TeamGB pic.twitter.com/TxXkwYtEFu
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 7, 2021
The Devon diver has come far since he first swam into the Olympic stadium aged just 14, becoming the second-youngest male Team Great Britain member in Beijing.
One of the top divers in his field, Daley has drawn applause for winning bronze in London 2012 and Rio 2016.
His win in Tokyo 2020 was decades in the making, and a tearful Daley hoisted himself up the winners’ podium visibly tearful.
“I hope that any young LGBT+ person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone and that you can achieve anything,” Tom Daley told reporters after his triumphant win.
“There is a whole lot of your chosen family out here ready to support you.”
He continued: “I think it’s one of those things that I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion.
“I think it’s something that – I mean I feel very empowered by that because when I was younger I thought that I was never going to be anything or achieve anything because of who I was.
“And to be an Olympic champion now just shows that you can achieve anything.”
