BREAKING NEWS: Tom Daley FINALLY wins Olympic gold! Team GB diving star produces stunning display with Matty Lee to beat Chinese favourites in men’s synchronised 10m platform
- Tom Daley and Matty Lee put in a phenomenal display to win a gold medal in the 10m synchronised platform
- Daley won bronze at both London 2012 and at Rio 2016 but has now won a title to complete his Olympic dream
- It is Team GB’s second gold medal of the Tokyo Games after Adam Peaty’s earlier victory in 100m breaststroke
- Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here
Tom Daley knew opportunities were running out and so what a moment for him to win his first Olympic medal alongside Matty Lee in the men’s synchronised 10m platform.
The 27-year-old took bronze in both 2012 and 2016 and may well have thought that was his ceiling as an Olympian.
But both Daly and Lee refused to bow down to the Chinese favourites as they went toe-to-toe, forcing mistakes and eventually coming out on top.
Tom Daley (front) and Matty Lee (back) produced a near-perfect display to take a gold medal
The British pairing were reduced to tears after the judges’ scores came through to confirm they had won the syncronised title
Daley (seen right) has waited 13 years to claim a gold medal having landed bronzes at the previous two Olympic Games
The 27-year-old was left lost for words when it was confirmed that his Olympic dream was complete in winning a gold medal
The two British divers placed the medals around each other’s necks as they stood top of the podium in the diving centre
Lee, making his Olympic debut in Tokyo, showed no fear as they fought back in the final few rounds to defeat China
The British duo were trailing behind China in the first three of the six rounds but finished strongest and were deserved winners.
Daley and Lee, who was making his Olympic debut, were made to face an agonising wait to secure gold as Chinese rivals, Chen Aisen and Cao Yuan, put in a brilliant final dive but they needed 9.6 to win it and failed to do so.
Daley was overcome with emotion at the end as Team GB broke down into tears as the celebrated following the most extreme pressure in the closing dives.
At the medal ceremony Daley put the award around Lee’s neck and Lee did the same for his partner as they proudly stood to the national anthem.
Daley (left) made his Olympic debut back in 2008 in Beijing but had never before managed to win more than a bronze medal
Team GB’s high score of 471.81 was untouchable even with a thrilling finish by China as they watched on having dived first
He has become the first British diver in history to win three Olympic medals.
Victory takes Team GB’s medal haul at the Games to five.
Daley made his Olympic debut in Beijing 13 years ago in 2008 and has finally landed the top prize in diving.
He arrived as a teenage sensation and now finally, as a dad, gets his hands on a gold medal.
China had it all to do with their final dive and almost pulled it off as they reached a superb 470.58, but it was not enough after Team GB’s wonderful 471.81.
The diving pair’s gold adds to the Mega Monday of medals for Team GB, which was started with Alex Yee in the triathlon, as he took silver.
Team GB then later gold their first gold of the Games when Adam Peaty defended his 100m breaststroke title that he won in Rio.
Daley has previously been the 10m platform world champion two times, and claimed bronzes at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The British pair faced an agonising wait after the Chinese pair were last to dive but it was not enough to go and beat Team GB
It was one of the most emotional scenes for Team GB of the Games so far as Lee and Daley added to the Mega Monday haul
But hopes were high for Daley coming into Monday’s events after the form he showed in winning two golds at a recent World Cup in Tokyo — the second being in the synchro with new partner Lee.
Speaking last week Daley, who is a father to three-year-old son Robbie, born via surrogacy in the US in June 2018, said that being in lockdown with his family has changed his perspective on life.
The Plymouth-born sportsman said that the Olympics being postponed has re-ordered his priorities and he now sees himself as a husband and a father instead of simply a diver.
‘I think it’s changed my perspective on what matters most,’ he told the Radio Times.
‘Especially the things that you have in your life every single day and often take for granted. I got to spend so much bonding time with my family.
‘Before getting married and having a kid, I used to define myself by how well I do in a competition. Not anymore. I’m a father, I’m a husband, so many more things than just a diver.’
Daley is among more than 160 LGBT+ athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics, which is more than three times the number at the previous Olympics in Brazil which hosted a then-record 49 openly LGBT+ athletes.
He recently revealed he discovered a passion for knitting during lockdown, and spent the 12-hour flight to Tokyo practising the craft.
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