After a stunning performance with synchronized diving partner Matty Lee, Great Britain’s Tom Daley became an Olympic champion for the first time while competing in his fourth Olympics.
But Daley is also a knitting and crocheting machine and has been spotted stitching while poolside — including while competing still — at the Tokyo Games. He even made a lovely holder for his gold medal with the British flag on one side and the Japanese flag on the other.
However, Daley’s true masterpiece is the Olympic-themed cardigan he made while at the Games.
“When I got to Tokyo, I wanted to make something that would remind me of these games. Something that I could say I had made in Tokyo, during the Olympics!” Daley wrote in his Instagram caption with the finished product.
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Every time the Olympics roll around – be it the Winter or Summer Games – an event seems to pop up that you’ve never really thought about but it then quickly becomes something you can’t turn away from.
For me, in these Tokyo Games, that sport has become synchronized diving and yesterday’s men’s synchronized platform diving final had me on the edge of my seat.
That’s something I definitely didn’t see coming just a few days ago but I’m glad that it did because all the different synchronized diving events are awesome.
And yes, there are lots of awesome events in the Olympics – swimming, gymnastics, team handball, and many more. But this synchronized diving is just so wild.
Yesterday’s finale was a beautiful, pressure-packed competition that saw Great Britain’s Tom Daley (who gave a great speech to the LGBTQ+ commuity) finally win his first gold medal as he and Matty Lee teamed up to edge a team from China. The gold wasn’t decided until the final dive by China, which looked like a pretty flawless dive. Everyone then stood there waiting for the judges’ numbers to be released and when they were, Daley and Lee went nuts, which was an awesome moment.
Now, I know very little about diving but what these athletes can do in synchronized diving just blows my mind. The platform is 10 meters high (just under 33 feet) and two divers just stand atop that thing before launching into a number of flips and twists before hitting the water at same time.
The courage and timing that all takes blows my mind. It’s a thing of absolute beauty and it all leads to some pretty incredible photos, too.
I want to know who these divers get into the synchronized world. Do they just see someone else training and be like – “Hey, want to dive at the same time?”
I’m kidding, of course, because I know the process is a lot more complex than that.
I am just in awe of what they can do and I can’t wait to watch the women’s final later tonight (even thought it happened already today and I don’t want to see any spoilers) and the men’s 3-meter springboard final tomorrow.
Because yeah, synchronized diving rules.
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What an incredible moment it was for Great Britain’s synchronized 10-meter divers Tom Daley and Matty Lee, who won gold in Tokyo.
What was just as incredible was what Daley said to reporters after the victory. Daley, who came out in 2013, and who is at his fourth Olympics, spoke about what it meant to be gay and an Olympic champion for the first time.
“When I was younger, I always felt like the one that was alone and different and didn’t fit in, there was something about me that was never going to be as good as what society wanted me to be,” he said. “I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone. You can achieve anything. There is a whole lot of your chosen family out here ready to support you and I think it’s one of those things that I feel incredibly proud to say I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion.”
“I feel incredibly proud to say I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion.”
Gold medal winner Tom Daley says he hopes his performance will inspire young LGBT people to realise “you can achieve anything”.
