Tom Daley: the perfect Hollywood ending for Team GB’s golden boy
There were tears of joy after Daley and Matty Lee won diving gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
He’s been part of Britain’s Olympic fabric since making his debut as a 14-year-old at the 2008 games in Beijing. Thirteen years on Tom Daley can finally call himself an Olympic champion.
At the Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on Monday, Team GB diving duo Daley and Matty Lee produced the performance of a lifetime to secure gold in the men’s synchronised 10m platform. For Lee, 23, it was gold in his first games, for Daley, 27, it marks the culmination of a remarkable career after bronze medals at London 2012 and in Rio five years ago.
In a nail-biting finale the British pair watched on as China’s Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen conducted their final dive. Once it became clear they had ended China’s golden grip on the event, wild celebrations broke out as Daley and Lee realised their Olympic dreams had come true, the BBC reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On the podium there were tears of joy as Daley and Lee collected their gold medals. “It’s kind of unbelievable,” Daley said. “I’ve dreamt, as has Matty, since I started diving 20 years ago for this moment of becoming an Olympic champion.”
A gold medal speech
If there were Olympic medals given out for post-competition press conferences, Daley would be winning gold again, says The Independent’s Victoria Richards. His speech was a “perfect example of what makes Britain great”. He talked openly about being a gay man and an athlete, and encouraged young LGBTQ+ people not to feel discouraged.
“I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion,” Daley said. “When I was younger I didn’t think I’d ever achieve anything because of who I was. To be an Olympic champion now just shows that you can achieve anything.”
The story wasn’t finished
Daley is married to Dustin Lance Black, an Oscar-winning writer. In the “remarkable Tom Daley story”, he has had his every growing pain played out in front of millions. Now, he has his perfect ending, and nobody deserves it more, says The Telegraph’s Oliver Brown.
Daley was “heartbroken” after missing out on the 10m platform diving competition final in Rio. He revealed that it was his husband who encouraged him to have one final title at the games. “Neither could have guessed that the plan would culminate as exquisitely as this,” Brown added.
“It was my husband [Dustin Lance Black] who said to me my story wasn’t finished and that my son or child, we didn’t know at the time, needed to be there to watch me win an Olympic gold medal,” Daley said. “The fact that I can say my son watched me become Olympic champion, albeit on TV and they couldn’t be here, is such a great feeling. To be able to do it with your best mate as well and to share that moment. At the back of the podium when you’re by yourself, it’s all internalised, but when you have someone that’s done it with you, you don’t feel bad about saying ‘oh my goodness, we just bloody did amazing!’”
Long march to Olympic glory
“Adored and pilloried, loved but misunderstood, over-hyped yet under-appreciated”, Daley has always been a national treasure – but now he’s got the gold medal to go with it, says Alyson Rudd in The Times.
After previous Olympic disappointments and the death of his father in 2011, the tears on the podium in Tokyo reflect Daley’s long march to Olympic glory, says The Guardian’s Donald McRae. “All the hope, disappointment, despair and joy the British diver had endured these past 13 years were cleansed with Tokyo gold”.
‘I’m very, very proud of him’
The final word should be given to Matty Lee - who was just nine years old when he first met Daley. Due to Covid restrictions in Tokyo it was Lee who had the honour of placing Daley’s gold medal around his neck.
“It’s funny how things change,” Lee told TeamGB.com. “All those years back I was a fan, a little kid looking up to him. Now we’re best mates and Olympic gold medallists. To be able to put the well-deserved gold medal around his neck was really special to me, and I’m very, very proud of him. Obviously it’s my dream to be an Olympic gold medallist, but it’s great to be able to have won that with Tom.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - December 21, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - losing it, pedal to the metal, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Three fun, festive activities to make the magic happen this Christmas Day
Inspire your children to help set the table, stage a pantomime and write thank-you letters this Christmas!
By The Week Junior Published
-
The best books of 2024 to give this Christmas
The Week Recommends From Percival Everett to Rachel Clarke these are the critics' favourite books from 2024
By The Week UK Published
-
Luca Brecel: Belgian ‘hell-raiser’ triumphs at the Crucible
In the Spotlight The 28-year-old beat Mark Selby 18-15 to win his first World Snooker Championship title
By The Week Staff Published
-
Jakub Jankto: first current male international footballer to come out as gay
In the Spotlight The 27-year-old Czech midfielder says ‘I no longer want to hide myself’
By Asya Likhtman Published
-
Jim Ratcliffe: petrochemical billionaire turned Man Utd bidder
In the Spotlight The Ineos owner is the first to publicly bid for the 13-time Premier League winners
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Pelé obituary: remembering the greatest footballer of all time
In the Spotlight The Brazilian footballer, who died aged 82, was blessed with extraordinary skill in every aspect of the game
By The Week Staff Published
-
Jude Bellingham: from Birmingham to the Qatar World Cup via Dortmund
In the Spotlight Teenage midfielder showed ‘power, skill and precision’ in England’s 6-2 win over Iran
By Mike Starling, The Week UK Published
-
Gareth Southgate and England face ‘whole new level of expectation’ at World Cup
In the Spotlight After reaching the final of the Euros, can the Three Lions go one step further in Qatar?
By Mike Starling, The Week UK Published
-
Gareth Bale: Wales captain is a ‘once in 100 years’ player
In the Spotlight The 33-year-old is ready to ‘give it everything’ as Wales return to the World Cup
By Mike Starling, The Week UK Published
-
Max Verstappen: F1’s record-breaking world champion
In the Spotlight Red Bull star has surpassed records set by Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton
By Mike Starling, The Week UK Published