- Tom Daley has announced his retirement from diving in an emotional statement
- The 30-year-old won five medals at five different Olympic Games for Team GB
- He has now provided insight into his plans outside the pool
Tom Daley has confirmed his retirement from diving in an emotional statement.
Daley, who won silver in the men’s 10m synchronised event with partner Noah Williams at the 2024 Olympics, has admitted it is “the right time to retire”.
During his illustrious career, the 30-year-old has won five medals at five Olympic Games and became Britain’s youngest ever Olympic competitor at the age of 14.
Daley became the first British diver to win four Olympic medals, with a fifth medal in Paris, where he won silver.
Speaking with FashionDaley said: ‘It was emotional at the end, there on the platform, knowing this would be my last competitive dive.
Team GB star Tom Daley has confirmed his retirement from diving in an emotional statement
Daley, left, and Noah Williams won silver medals in the 10m synchro platform in Paris
‘But I have to make a decision at some point, and this feels like the right time.
“It’s the right time to stop.”
Daley, who was overcome with emotion, also spoke to the BBC and said, ‘[It’s] Hard to talk about. I’m (so proud of myself) It’s really hard to talk about. Gotta hang it up at some point, but I’m very proud.
“I want to be with my family and I’m really looking forward to spending some time with them and feeling normal for a few days. It’s just really overwhelming. I didn’t intend for it to be timed this way, but I’m really proud of my career.
‘At the moment it is of course a lot and I am very happy with how everything went, it is just difficult when you say goodbye to your sport.
“There’s a lot to process, but I think it’s the right time. This year felt like a bonus. I got to fight for my kids and I got to carry the flag, so yeah – bucket list checked off.
‘I like to think they (his family) are very proud of me. I’m happy, it’s just hard to talk when you’ve loved something so much.
‘Thank you! The support I have had from the UK has been so incredible and thank you to everyone who has been there for me all the way through. It is the end of an era, I can look back on my 23 years and be very proud!’.
Daley became Britain’s youngest ever Olympian at the age of 14 when he competed in Beijing in 2008
His highlight was winning a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
The 30-year-old, who first represented Great Britain in Beijing at the age of 14, has been a cornerstone of the British diving team for almost two decades.
A bronze medal at London 2012 sparked a nation’s love affair with the Plymouth-born diver. Subsequent bronzes in Rio and Tokyo, the latter with Matty Lee, showed Daley’s versatility and determination. His highlight came in Tokyo, where he finally claimed Olympic gold.
Now that Daley has retired from competitive diving, he leaves behind a legacy of athletic excellence, courage and inspiration.
During the Paris Olympics, Daley told how his six-year-old son Robbie inspired him to reconsider his decision to retire.
He said: ‘It’s so special that this time last year I decided to come back and now I’m standing here in Paris diving in front of my son, who asked me to come back.
‘It completes the set, I now have one of each color.’
The diver explained that Robbie was especially excited to get his hands on a piece of the Eiffel Tower, part of every medal at the Paris Olympics.
He added: ‘He’s six years old now and I think he can still remember this a little bit.
“He loves to touch a piece of the Eiffel Tower.”
More to come