British hero Daley: Hard work It was all worth it for bronze
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UPDATED:
13:39 GMT, 14 August 2012
Tom Daley can't stop grinning. He didn't get to sleep until 5am the night of the Closing Ceremony but, some seven hours later, he breezes into Team GB House next to the Olympic Park, apparently brimming with energy.
He's got a bronze medal in his backpack, after all. This 97 per cent copper disc, 3.3 inches in diameter, Daley's reward for finishing third in the 10-metre platform, is no longer a dream, a hope or a prediction. It is something tangible; something Daley and his family can keep at home in Plymouth. It's little wonder he's smiling.
'If I'd done that performance and finished fourth, even though I was happy with the dives, I would just be gutted not to have anything that said, “Look, I did this. I went to the Olympic Games”,' he says.
Bronze: Daley digests his London 2012 experience with Sportsmail's Laura Williamson
'I would have put so much hard work and effort in but I wouldn't have anything to show for it, only fourth place. So once I'd got a medal it was something to say, “This is what I've got out of it”.
'It wasn't just a medal for me: it was a medal for the whole team, my family, friends, supporters, for Britain.'
Look what I've got: Daley and the precious bronze medal he secured in the men's 10m platform
The act of stepping on to the podium was poignant for all 141 members of the British team who had the honour at London 2012, but you feel it was more crucial for Daley than most.
He passed his driving test last year and became an adult in May but he celebrated on Saturday night by eating choco-late ice cream. It's easy to forget he's still a teenager.
This 18-year-old has had to cope with the loss of his father, Rob, in May last year; a man as closely entwined with Daley's sporting success as the chamois cloth he uses to dry himself between dives.
He has lost more than a stone in weight and come through the worry of wondering if his growth spurts will affect his ability to learn and execute ever more complex dives.
He has had to manage being a public face of British sport since London won the bid for the Olympic Games in 2005. And he desperately wanted to win a medal to make it all seem worth it.
Daley said: 'I was standing on the podium, looking around at the Olympic rings and thinking, “How the hell has this happened How have I got here” Standing there made me think all the hard work I have been putting in was definitely worth it.
'It was amazing to see my family on the side. Mum was very excited. Everyone's just really happy that we've finally got some good news in the family.
'It was a moment I finally got something to show for all the hard work, dedication, all the sacrifices I've had to make.'
Flying the flag: Daley was under intense pressure coming into the London Games
Daley admitted he was 'devastated' to finish fourth in the synchronised 10m event with partner Pete Waterfield on the first Monday of the Games. The pair faltered in the fourth round and Daley had to wait 11 days to make amends in the individual event.
'I felt ready going into the synchro,' he says. 'It was devastating to come fourth. If you miss one dive at that standard of competition then you're out. You can't afford to do that. I was gutted we got fourth place.'
Water performance: Daley lit up the Aquatics Centre on Sunday night
Daley left the 'draining' Olympic bubble and escaped to Southend. It took him 'an hour to walk five minutes down the road', such was the level of attention, but he tried to 'chill out' by watching Ted at the cinema, seeing his mum Debbie and brothers William and Ben and playing mini-golf. Then it was back to Stratford for round two.
'I went into the individual event like there was something to prove, almost,' says Daley. 'I was nervous but then, when I was in the cool room (before diving), I was just thinking, “I'm just going to enjoy this; just go out there and give it my best shot because that's all I can do”.'
Daley's composure and the measured, controlled way he speaks is almost unerring, but this maturity was ultimately what helped him earn that bronze medal.
He had the confidence and experience to argue he had been distracted by camera flashes during his first dive in the Olympic final, which scored only 75.60 points. He was allowed to re-take the dive and scored 91.80.
'Having an Olympic Games under my belt already definitely helped,' he says. 'I know that if I had the amount of pressure going into this Games without having the Olympic experience I think it would probably have been all too much. So I definitely used that to my advantage and didn't let the Olympic rings on the side of the wall get to me.
'Jessica Ennis I can't even imagine how she was feeling, competing in her first Games. Sport more than anything at the Olympics is psychological. You've done all your training. You're meant to treat it like a normal competition but nobody ever does because the Olympics means so much more to people. It's just whoever, psychologically, holds their nerve, really.'
As we chat, the autographed pictures of Britain's medal winners are being taken down and packed away in bubble wrap. The sign downstairs already declares ParalympicsGB are the new tenants on the ninth floor. But Daley keeps mentioning Rio de Janeiro, the city which will host the Games in four years' time.
Nice wheels: Tom Daley learning to drive last year at the Goodwood motor
circuit
'I think normally divers peak at around 22 to 24,' he says. 'I'll have just turned 22 in Rio, so that's the Olympics I'm most excited about, performance-wise. I think in total (I might make) maybe four or five, depending on how diving moves on, but we'll get to Rio first.
'It's outdoors, which the Chinese don't like. I love diving outdoors. All the competitions I've done well in have been outdoors so I've always had good memories.
'I've got all the hardest dives I can learn now, so it's going to be four more years of solid practising them. The exciting thing is they're only going to get more consistent and more accurate. The whole next cycle has started already.'
He's still grinning, showing off those perfect white teeth that helped make him the poster boy of London 2012. Incredibly, he's already looking forward to Rio 2016. Maybe, just maybe, that precious medal will be gold next time round.
Tom Daley is part of the BMW London 2012 Performance Team. BMW is the Official Automotive Partner of London 2012; for more information please visit london2012.bmw.co.uk.
