‘I can look back and be proud’ – Daley in his own words

Sixteen years after he first stepped on the Olympic stage as a teenager, Tom Daley has retired.

Britain’s most decorated diver is ending his career with five Olympic medals to his name.

He was 14 when he made his Games debut at Beijing 2008, and last Monday – 5,831 days on – returned for his fifth Games in Paris, winning silver alongside Noah Williams in the men’s synchro 10m platform.

Before Paris 2024, Daley spoke to BBC Sport about his emotional journey, during which he has won Olympic gold, dealt with the death of his father, married his partner Dustin Lance Black, become a father of two sons, stepped away from diving, then made a comeback. After the Games, the BBC caught up with him again to talk about his decision to retire.

BBC Sport first ran a version of this piece on 24 July.

Daley has grown up in the media spotlight from a young age. He won gold at the European Championships as a 13-year-old in 2008, finished seventh in the individual event at the Olympics, aged 14, later that year and came out as gay in 2013, shortly after winning his first medal at the London Games. Before the Olympics, he spoke to BBC Sport about those experiences.

“As a kid growing up, feeling different and feeling like I didn’t quite fit in, I always felt like I had to overachieve to disguise the part of me that I always thought was considered wrong.

“I know how I felt in that period of time and it was like a very tortured soul.

“I struggled with all kinds of different things when it came to going away from home and being away like from my parents, going to unfamiliar territory.

“I was absolutely awful at staying away from home. I used to cry and never want to stay overnight without my parents.”

During his early career, Daley was taken to competitions and supported by his father, Rob. In 2006, Rob was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died in 2011, 14 months before the London Olympics.

“My dad was hugely dedicated to all of his kids, but in particular around my time.

“There was nothing that he wouldn’t do if it was going to help either make me feel better in training and give me a better opportunity to be able to go and compete.

“He was there for every competition and every training session, no matter what it was.

“To know how much he sacrificed is very special.

“I hope that he never regretted spending that time with me, travelling the world and getting to see those competitions.

“Now, as a parent, I feel like I have to live by his example on that as well. I so wish that he got to see me win an Olympic medal.”

Daley won bronze at London 2012 and the Olympics four years later in Rio. In 2018 he and his husband Dustin Lance Black, a US film-maker, announced the birth of their son, Robbie, who was named after Daley’s father. Their second son, Phoenix, was born in 2023.

At the Tokyo Games in 2021, Daley won his first Olympic gold in the 10m synchronised event with partner Matty Lee. Afterwards, having moved to the US with his family, he effectively retired from diving before announcing his return after a two-year break in 2023. The decision came after a trip to the US Olympic and Paralympic museum in Colorado.

“At the end of the museum they had this video of what it means to be an Olympian and all of the effort you have to go to to get to the Olympic Games.

“I remember the video finishing and I was there crying.

“It was Robbie who turned and said, ‘Papa, what’s the matter?’

“Lance looked at me, saw me crying and thought, ‘oh no. I know what this means…’

“I said, ‘I just really miss diving in the Olympics’, and Robbie said, ‘but Papa, I want to see you dive in the Olympics’ – and that was that.”

Daley had been one of the two British flagbearers for the opening ceremony and his husband and children were among a large contingent of family and friends at the Paris Aquatics Centre to give the British pair loud support.

“It’s just so special,” Daley said after they finished second behind China’s Lian Junjie and Yang Hao. “Doing it in front of my son who asked me to come back is so special. I now have one [medal] of every colour, I’ve completed the set.”

His two sons were wearing T-shirts that read ‘That’s my Papa’ and the first flicker of emotion from Daley came as he blew a kiss to his family from the medal podium.

On Monday, in an interview with Vogue, Daley confirmed his retirement, saying: “It was emotional up there on the platform, knowing it was going to be my last competitive dive.

“But I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time. It’s the right time to call it a day.

“I felt so nervous knowing it was my last Olympics. There was a lot of pressure and expectation. I was eager for it to be done, but when I saw my husband, kids, my friends and family in the audience, I was like, ‘this is exactly why I did this’.

In an interview with the BBC after arriving back into London with other members of Team GB, an emotional Daley added: “Coming back to a reception like this is so special.

“It’s always hard when you say goodbye to your sport. Lots of things to process, but it’s the right time.

“The support I’ve had has been incredible. Thank you to everyone who’s been with me. I guess it’s the end of an era but I can look back on my 23 years and be very proud.”