Tom Daley makes history after adding a bronze medal to his glistening gold
August 7, 2021History-maker Tom Daley became the first British diver to win four Olympic medals after winning a bronze medal in the Men’s 10m Platform in Tokyo.
It was a final full of sensational performances and with Daley scoring more than 90 points on five out of his six dives, his bronze was well deserved.
The 27-year-old scored a total of 548.25 points after six rounds as he added another medal to his Olympic tally.
Daley now has two 10m Synchro medals after his gold medal win alongside Matty Lee and his Rio 2016 bronze alongside Dan Goodfellow, as well as two individual 10m Platform bronze medals from London 2012 and the rearranged Tokyo Games.
It was a bright start for Daley who earned his highest score in the opening round of the competition with the judges awarding 98.60 points for his reverse 3 ½ somersaults in tuck.
Next up was the easiest dive on his list by way of difficulty, his inward 3 ½ somersaults in tuck – 3.2 degree of difficulty.
The GB diver scored 91.20 which saw him move into the lead by 5.20 points after round two.
Following round three, Daley’s lead was cut to just 0.80 and then a slight error on his armstand back 3 somersaults in pike in round four resulted in the judges awarding his lowest score of 80.50.
The two Chinese divers, Yuan Cao and Jian Yang, moved above Daley which saw him occupy third place ahead of the final two rounds.
Two more impressive dives from Daley, scoring 94.35 for his forward 4 ½ somersaults in tuck and 91.80 for his back 3 ½ somersaults in pike, secured a podium place for the British athlete.
There were no mistakes from the either of the Chinese divers as they battled it out between them for the gold medal, with Cao taking it by 1.95 despite a Yang scoring 112.75 for his final dive.
I owe this to so many people
After his performance, Daley admitted he wasn’t sure if he would be ready to compete in Tokyo after injuries and undergoing surgery.
Now, coming away with two medals, he explains that he feels ‘like a different athlete’.
He said: “I honestly am so happy that this Olympics has gone the way it has. I feel like a different athlete, I feel like I’ve been through so many different things over the years and to finally get here is great.
“Back at the end of May, I didn’t even know if I was going to make it to these Olympics, I tore my meniscus and had knee surgery.
“Of course I always dreamed I would get back up in time to be fit enough to dive at these Olympics, but if somebody had told me I’d win gold and bronze, I’d have probably laughed in their face.
“I owe this to so many people. My coach, all my physios and support staff, and also of course Robbie and Lance and my mum and all my friends watching at home.
“Although I’m the one standing on the podium, there are so many people behind the athletes you see with these medals.
“The difficult thing with the individuals is you have a prelim and a semi-final to survive and get through to the final. Once you’re in the final, that’s what I love, I love competition when it counts.
“It was a great competition with the Chinese divers today, it was close all the way through but they pulled away after the fourth round when I missed it a little.
“Again, I’m so happy to come away with another Olympic medal.”