Tom Daley says that it was a ‘bonus’ winning his Olympics silver medal while his son Robbie watched on – after reversing retirement to compete in his fifth games
Tom Daley has revealed that winning his Olympic silver medal, as his son Robbie proudly watched on from the crowd, was a ‘bonus’ after he withdrew his bid to compete in just his fifth event.
The 30-year-old diver had previously announced he would return to competitive diving after his eldest son wanted him to compete in the Olympics. He won national praise for winning silver with his diving partner Noah Williams.
Speaking to Sam Quek on The Capital Evening Show With Jimmy Hill, Tom said little Robbie was his inspiration to win another medal at the Paris Olympics.
During the event, Tom’s partner Dustin Lance Black was seen cheering him on from the sidelines, along with their sons Robbie, six, and Phoenix, 16 months.
He said: ‘This year really felt like a bonus. 19 months ago I was sitting on the bench and doing nothing. Then I decided to come back because my son wanted to see me at the Olympics.
Tom Daley has revealed it was a ‘bonus’ to win his Olympic silver medal as his son Robbie looked on proudly from the crowd after he withdrew his withdrawal to compete in his fifth race
The diver won his fifth Olympic medal on Monday at the Games in Paris, as his husband Dustin Lance Black and sons Robbie, six, and Phoenix, 13 months, looked on.
“And now that I’m here with a silver medal, and I get to dive with Noah and, you know, I get to dive in front of my family. That’s really special.”
Sam asked, “So that was Robbie who said that?” Tom added, “Yeah, that was Robbie.”
Sam asked, “So what happened? So Phoenix is ββat that age now where they’re just starting to learn to talk β what are you going to do if they decide to say the same thing?”
Tom continued: ‘Robbie has already redeemed his token – he won’t be getting another one!
“But I don’t know about Phoenix. Who knows? I don’t know if Phoenix will ever remember that I was a diver, because he’s only 16 months old.
“He’s actually 16 months today. He won’t really remember it, but we’ll have lots of pictures. He did throw his juice bottle at me in the mixing area from the balcony, but yeah, it was really sweet to have them there.”
Tom and Dustin had their sons via surrogacy and previously stated that they had each fertilized half of the eggs, so they did not know who the biological father of their children was.
Robbie, who wore a ‘Team Daley’ T-shirt featuring his father’s face, was filmed enthusiastically waving the Union Jack flag.
Tom won silver in the 10m synchro platform event with Noah Williams, who planted a kiss on his teammate’s cheek during the medal ceremony
Meanwhile, Dustin, 50, held their youngest son and was pictured waving encouragingly to his husband of seven years.
Tom won silver in the 10m synchro platform, teaming with Noah Williams. Williams gave his teammate a kiss on the cheek during the medal ceremony at the Aquatics Centre on the third day of the Games on Monday.
Robert, who was named after Tom’s late father, also carried a British flag at his father’s fifth Olympic Games, the first in 2008, when he was just 14.
Tom won his first medal, bronze at London 2012, followed by a second at Rio 2016.
And he won gold and bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Tom married American screenwriter Dustin Lance Black in 2017.
After Tokyo, he moved to the United States with his two sons and effectively retired from diving. However, in 2023, he returned to the sport after a two-year break and began competing with his new diving partner Noah Williams.
This year Tom chose not to compete individually and prioritized the synchro event.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Tom emotionally revealed that his fifth Olympic appearance is ‘for his family’.
He explained: ‘For me it means this time I’m standing on the diving board, looking to the side and I see my husband, my kids, my mom, my friends, family, aunts and uncles.
‘A lot of people are coming to watch. To see them and to be able to dive for them again will be very special.
“I’m so excited to see the looks on my little kids’ faces when I get up on that diving board. That’s why I came back this year – it’s for them.”
Tom Daley delved into how stressful it can be to travel with two young children during an official Olympics press conference earlier this month.
He explained: ‘Luckily it was an overnight flight so Robbie, who travels all the time, wasn’t affected. He’s six now so he’s a bit more mature.
“Phoenix is ββββreally the second child though β squirmy, wants to climb on everything, jump on everything. He was quiet, but I had to keep him in line all the time.”
Listen to The Capital Evening Show with Jimmy Hill, weekdays from 7pm to 10pm on Capital and Global Player.