Tom Daley announces retirement from diving after Paris Olympics
Team GB icon Tom Daley has announced his retirement from diving after winning his fifth medal the 2024 Paris Games.
The Olympic legend said it 'feels like the right time' to call it a day, announcing his decision to Vogue.
Daley made his Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, aged just 14, competing in the individual 10m individual platform dive and in the 10m platform synchro, coming seventh and eighth, respectfully.
The British diver then won his first Olympic medal in the individual 10m dive in London, a bronze medal, and became an Olympic champion in Tokyo in 2021, winning gold in the 10m synchro with Matty Lee.
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As well as this, he has won a silver this summer, and two more bronzes at the games over the years.
A true sporting legend, Daley said that calling time on a 15+ year career felt 'surreal', but is pleased when reflecting on what he has achieved in his career.
The 30-year-old revealed that he knew that he was going to retire before his synchronised dive with Noah Williams, adding: “It was emotional at the end, 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.”
Daley explained: "It feels very, very surreal.
"I felt so incredibly nervous going into this, 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 walked out, and saw my husband [Lance] and kids [Robbie and Phoenix] and my friends and family in the audience, I was like, 'you know what? This is exactly why I did this. I’m here, and no matter what happens in the competition itself, I’m going to be happy'."
A five-time Olympian, he also managed to pick up his first Olympic medal as a teenager, and became a poster boy for Team GB, achieving legendary status and being chosen as the flag bearer for the nation this summer.
With his silver medal in Paris, Daley became the first British diver to win five Olympic medals.
As well as his achievements at the games, the diver is also a four-time world champion, a two-time junior world champion, a five-time European champion and a four-time Commonwealth champion.
Joshua Nair