Tom Daley

The Big One!

It’s was the biggest competition of Tom’s life so far – and he truly rose to the occasion!

After a shaky start in the prelims for the 10m Platform individual event at London 2012, Tom stepped out near the bottom of the pack for the semi-final.  Determined to prove he could do better and sit amongst the top of the world’s elite, he pulled back to a strong 4^th place position at the end of the semi-final.

“There is so much pressure to deal with in any competition, but this really was the big one, so I knew that the shaky start in the prelim was down to nerves and not because I couldn’t do the dives. That gave me the confidence to go out into the semi-final and show the world what I could really do.”

There was high drama during Tom’s first dive in the 10m Platform final, after a series of flashes from the crowd taking photos disorientated Tom at the crucial take off stage of his opening dive.

“I just got blinded by the flashes from the crowd. It’s so important to be able to know where you are going when you dive so you can time the moves properly. I spoke to the head judge with my trainer Andy Banks and he allowed me to redo the dive. It was right to get a second shot at it but the pressure really was on to do it well too!”

The final saw everyone raise their game but Tom held his own and sailed through his list of dives, confidently performing his hardest dive, the front 4 ½, with skill – showing the ecstatic home crowd just what he can do. When the final results were announced, it’s been said that the cheer from the Aquatic Centre could be heard right across the Olympic Park!

“Getting an Olympic bronze medal at London 2012 is a dream come true and one that I’ve had since I was 12, I can’t believe that it’s actually happened! I’ve had a hard year, losing my Dad and coping with the pressure to be in top form going into the games, but I know that I went out there, gave it my all and feel so proud to have won a medal!”