Tom Daley has announced his retirement from diving after winning his fifth Olympic medal in Paris.
The 30-year-old claimed a silver in the synchronised 10-metre platform with Noah Williams to complete his set of medals, following a gold in Tokyo and three other bronzes.
Daley had left open the possibility of competing at a sixth Games in Los Angeles – where he lives – in 2028.
But Britain’s most successful diver has now confirmed he is hanging up his trunks, 16 years after making his Olympic debut as a 14-year-old in Beijing.
‘It was emotional at the end, up there on the platform, knowing it was going to be my last competitive dive,’ Daley told Vogue. ‘But I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time to call it a day.
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 synchronised 10m platform in Paris
He became Team GB’s youngest ever Olympian when he competed at the 2008 games at 14
Daley was overcome with emotion as he spoke about the decision with the BBC on Monday
This is an emotional watch!
Tom Daley spoke to the BBC moments after announcing he will retire from diving. #BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/hZfHABBpN0
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 12, 2024
‘I’ve spent my whole life doing this and being able to let go of it is going to be hard. It’s going to be a major adjustment.
‘I would love for people to remember me for being a person that persevered, who persisted and didn’t give up on his dream until he was able to achieve it.
Do you think Tom Daley’s retirement at 30 is
‘To currently be Britain’s most decorated diver, I feel so incredibly proud. When I look back, I’m really, genuinely satisfied with what I’ve done.’
Daley, who has two children, stayed at the Olympics after his diving event to do punditry for Eurosport and now wants to pursue more TV work.
He also plans a career in fashion and is enrolling on a course at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles to be able to learn how to sew.
‘I knit and I crochet, but sewing will just add a whole different level of knowledge as to how to construct things,’ added Daley.
‘I’ve actually designed a couple of pieces of underwear that I’m going to be launching, and then I’m also hoping to launch a swimwear project next year.’
Daley, who was overcome with emotion, also spoke with the BBC and said: ‘[It’s] Hard to talk about. I am (so proud of myself) It’s really hard to talk about. Have to hang it up at some time, but I’m very proud.
‘I wanna be with my family and I’m very excited to spend some time with them and feel normal for a couple of days. It’s just very overwhelming. I didn’t mean for it to be timed like this, but I feel very proud of my career.
At 14-years-old, he finished in a creditable seventh place in the individual 10m platform event
Daley holding his individual bronze medal at the Olympic Victory Parade, September 2012
His crowning moment for Team GB was winning a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games
Daley pictured alongside husband Dustin Lance Black at the BRIT Awards back in 2023
‘Right now it’s obviously a lot and I’m really happy with how everything’s gone it’s just hard when you say good bye to your sport.
‘Lots of things to process but I think it’s the right time. This year felt like such a bonus. I got to compete in front of my kids and I got to be flag-bearer, so yeah – bucket list ticked off.
‘I like to think they’re (his family) very proud of me. I am happy, it’s just hard to talk when you have loved something so much.
‘Thank you! The support I’ve had from Great Britain has been so incredible and thank you to everyone who’s been there with me throughout all this. It’s the end of an era, I can look back through my 23 years and be very proud!’.
The 30-year-old, who first represented Great Britain at the tender age of 14 in Beijing, has been a cornerstone of the British diving team for nearly two decades.
A bronze medal at London 2012 ignited a nation’s love affair with the Plymouth-born diver.
Subsequent bronze medals in Rio and Tokyo, the latter alongside Matty Lee, showcased Daley’s versatility and determination. His crowning moment arrived in Tokyo, where he finally claimed Olympic gold.
As Daley steps away from competitive diving, he leaves behind a legacy of athletic excellence, courage, and inspiration.
Back in 2022, Daley was branded a ‘national treasure’ following the broadcast of his BBC documentary Tom Daley: Illegal to Be Me, which shows the athlete campaigning for the Commonwealth Games to be more LGBTQ+ friendly.
Daley and partner Williams pose on the podium after a successful 10m synchronised event
Daley’s husband Dustin Lance Black celebrates the diver’s glory with their two children
The Team GB diving star came out as gay in 2013 and wed filmmaker Black back in 2018
The Olympic gold medalist came out as gay in 2013, and wed filmmaker Dustin Lance Black in 2018.
While making his documentary, he spent four years visiting the ‘most homophobic countries in Commonwealth’ in a bid ‘to explore how gay athletes are facing extreme persecution’.
What he learnt during filming prompted him to change his initial opinion that countries with anti-LGBT laws should be banned from hosting sports events – instead concluding that banning countries from hosting these events ‘puts a target on the back of LGBT people in that country’.
During the Paris Games, Daley revealed how his six-year-old son Robbie inspired him to make a U-turn on his decision to retire.
He said: ‘It’s so special, this time last year deciding to come back and now to be here in Paris diving in front of my son who asked me to come back.
‘It completes the set, I now have one of every colour.’
The diving star explained that Robbie was mainly excited to to get his hands on a piece of the Eiffel Tower – a feature of every medal at the Paris Games.
He added: ‘He’s six years old now and I think he might remember some of this.
‘He’s excited to touch a bit of the Eiffel Tower.’
After Tokyo glory he moved to the US with his family and effectively retired from diving.
Daley seen knitting as he watches the Women’s Synchronised 3m Springboard Final
The diver checked his knit work while watching an diving event at the Aquatics Centre
But he announced his return after a two-year break in 2023, following a trip to the Olympic museum.
‘I think I always had my mind set on five Olympic games,’ said Daley, ‘Phoenix, our youngest son, was born in Colorado Springs which I didn’t know at the time was where the Olympic and Paralympic city and training centre is and the museum.
‘And we went to the museum before Phoenix was born and at the end of the museum they had this video on what it means to be an Olympian.
‘I remember the video finishing and of course, I was there crying. Lance looked over and thought, “Oh, God. I know what this means”.
‘Robbie was like, “Papa, I want to see you dive in the Olympics”. And that was that.’
