Matthew Lee (born 5 March 1998) is a retired British elitediver andOlympic gold medallist.[2] Adept in both individual and synchronised diving, and across both 3-metre springboard and platform, Lee won the gold medal in 10-metre platform at the2015 European Games, the mixed 10-metre synchronised platform at the2017 European Diving Championships and has twice been European junior champion on the 3-metre springboard. At world level, Lee won the silver medal in themixed 10-metre synchronised platform event at the 2017 World Championships, and at the2019 World Championships, Lee andTom Daley won bronze in the10 m synchro event, as well as gold in July 2021 at the2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Matty Lee was born to Helen and Tim Lee on 5 March 1998 inLeeds.[3][4] He learned to swim, then took up diving in 2005 at the age of seven.[5][6] He was also involved ingymnastics andaikido, but chose to concentrate on diving in 2007. He trained with the City of Leeds Diving Club at theJohn Charles Centre for Sport.[6] He studied atCarr Manor Community School from 2009 to 2014,[7] andNotre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College from 2014 to 2016.[8]
In 2012, Lee competed at his first European Junior Championships. He won the 3 m Springboard gold and then went to compete at the World Junior Championships later in the season, securing a top result of seventh in the Group B Platform.
In 2013, Lee won medals in all three Group B individual events at his second European Junior Championships, defending his 3 m title and taking silver in 10 m Platform, bronze in 1m Springboard.
In 2014, he debuted as a senior in the World Cup series. He was selected to compete at the2014 Commonwealth Games, but withdrew from the diving squad due to injury.
In 2015, Lee competed at the inaugural2015 European Games held inBaku. He won gold in 10 m platform beating Russia'sNikita Shleikher.[9]
At the2017 European Diving Championships in Kyiv, Lee won a bronze in theMen's 10-metre platform,[10] and a gold in themixed 10 m platform synchro with diving partnerLois Toulson.[11] The pair then won a silver at the2017 World Aquatics Championships in the10 m mixed synchro.[12]
At the 2018 British Diving Championships, Lee and his partnerKyle Kothari (from London) won the 10 m synchro event with a final score of 406.17, a sizeable margin over the second place score of 388.50.[13] He came second in the men's 10 m platform with a score of 485.60.[14]
Lee and his partnerLois Toulson won a bronze at the2018 FINA Diving World Series held in Beijing in the mixed platform synchro.[15] At the2018 European Championships held in Glasgow/Edinburgh, Lee and Toulson won a silver in themixed 10-metre platform synchro.[16]
Starting October 2018, Lee partnered withTom Daley in the men's synchronised 10-metre platform.[17]
At the2019 World Aquatics Championships held inGwangju, South Korea, Lee and Daley finished in the bronze position in the10 m synchro.[18]
At the2021 FINA Diving World Cup held in Japan, Lee and Daley won gold in synchronised 10 m platform.[19] The pair also won gold insynchronised 10 m platform at theEuropean Championships held inBudapest.[20]
At the2020 Tokyo Olympics, Lee won Gold alongside Daley in theMen's synchronised 10 m platform event, edging out China'sCao Yuan andChen Aisen with a total score of 471.81.[21]
Lee was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2022 New Year Honours for services to diving.[22][23]
At the2022 World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, Lee partnered withNoah Williams for the first time in an international competition and they won silver in thesynchro 10 m platform event.[24]
Lee and Williams again partnered at the2022 Commonwealth Games in thesynchro 10m platform, where the pair won gold.[25] In individual events, Lee won a bronze in10 m platform.[26]
In March 2024, Lee underwent adiscectomy on the L5/S1 disc in his spine,[27] effectively ruling him out of competing at the2024 Paris Olympics.
Lee announced his retirement from diving in February 2025.[28]
In November 2021, Lee was announced as a contestant on thetwenty-first series ofI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[29]He finished in fifth place.
Lee appeared onThe Chase on 28 August 2022 withSunetra Sarker,Basil Brush, andDavid Arnold.[30] All four celebrities completed in the Final Chase againstDarragh Ennis for £19,000. The team beat Ennis with each celebrity taking £4,750 home for their charities.[citation needed]
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