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Thomas Robert DaleyOBE (born 21 May 1994) is an English retireddiver,YouTuber and television personality. He is anOlympic champion in themen's synchronised 10-metre platform event at the2020 Olympics and doubleworld champion in theFINA 10-metre platform event, winning in2009 at the age of fifteen, and again in2017. He is an Olympic bronze medallist in the2012 platform event,[8] the2016 synchronised event,[9] and the2020 platform event.[10][11] He won the silver medal in the men's synchronised 10-metre at the2024 Olympics, making him the first British diver to win 5 Olympic medals.[12][13] Daley also competed in team events, winning theinaugural mixed team World title in 2015, and repeating the win in 2024, his fourth World title in all. He is an Olympic champion, four-time World Champion, a two-time junior World Champion, a five-timeEuropean champion and four-timeCommonwealth champion.
Daley started diving at the age of eight and is a member of Plymouth Diving Club, where his talent was identified early, and made an impact in national and international competitions from age nine. He representedGreat Britain at the2008 Summer Olympics where he was Britain's youngest competitor, age fourteen, and the youngest from any nation to participate in a final.[14] In 2009, Daley reached a career-best ranking of number one in theFINA World Aquatics Championships Diving Rankings for the 10 m platform.[15] He won two gold medals for England at the2010 Commonwealth Games, in the 10 m synchro diving (withMax Brick) and the 10 m Individual Platform competition.[16]
After the 2012 Summer Olympics and a summer of increased sporting interest amongst the UK public, television networkITV approached Daley to have a role in their new celebrity diving reality TV showSplash! Daley made his debut in the show's premiere on 5 January 2013 as a mentor to the celebrity competitors taking part.[17] In 2023 Daley became an assistant diving coach atUCLA.[18] In August 2024, a day after the 2024 Summer Olympics concluded, Daley announced his retirement from professional diving.[19]
Thomas Robert Daley[20][21] was born on 21 May 1994 atDerriford Hospital inPlymouth, Devon, England,[2][22] the son of Debbie (née Selvester) and Robert Daley.[23][24] He has two brothers – William who is three years younger, and Ben who is five years younger.[25] Their father, Robert, died from a brain tumour on 27 May 2011, aged 40, a few days after Daley's 17th birthday.[26]
Daley's interest in diving began at the age of eight after his father took him to he local pool and Daley noticed divers there. He began diving soon after. His talent was quickly spotted by his coach, Andy Banks.[27] His early diving heroes were Canadian diverAlexandre Despatie, who won gold at the1998 Commonwealth Games at the age of 13,[28][29] and British diverLeon Taylor, who later mentored him.[30]Daley was spotted by a coach taking part in regular diving lessons and was placed in a competitive squad in September 2002. His first competition was the National Novice Championships in April 2003 where he won a medal in the 8/9-year-old boys category. In September 2003, he took part in an invitational event in Southampton where he won the 1 m, 3 m and platform events, and first made his mark on the wider audience. Daley won his age group at the British Championships in the 1 m springboard, the 3 m springboard, and platform in 2004, 2005, and 2006.[31]
In June 2004, the month after his 10th birthday,[32] he won the platform competition in the National Junior (under-18) group, making him the youngest winner of that event.[31] In 2005, Daley competed as a guest competitor in the Australian Elite Junior Nationals and placed first in platform and second in 3 m springboard in the 14–15age group event. He also competed in the 14–15 category at the 2005 Aachen Junior International, placing second in platform and third in 3 m springboard. He met the qualification standard for the2006 Commonwealth Games, but was not selected for the England team because of his age.[33] In 2006, he was the under-18 British champion in platform and 3 m springboard, and he placed second in the 10 m platform at the 2007 senior British Championships, which were held in December 2006.[31]
From age 11 to 14, Daley attendedEggbuckland Community College in Plymouth.[34] At 13, he became a celebrity supporter ofChildline, a children's helpline run by theNational Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), and at that time it was revealed that he had been bullied eighteen months earlier.[35] In April 2009, Daley told Plymouth's main local newspaperThe Herald that he had been bullied at school since the Olympics,[36] and his father told the BBC that he had temporarily withdrawn him from that school because its response to the problem had been "ineffective".[37] Daley was praised in the media for speaking out about his problem.[38][39]
Daley was offered a full scholarship to board at independent schoolBrighton College, but his father turned this down due to the distance from home, and instead accepted a "very significant scholarship" from local independent schoolPlymouth College.[40][41]
Daley took hisGCSEs in small batches to fit around his diving commitments. He persuadedsupermodelKate Moss to pose for a recreation of an original portrait byDavid Hockney, as part of a GCSE photography project recreating great works of art, after meeting her on a photo shoot for ItalianVogue.[42]
In 2012, Daley finished his two-yearA-level studies[43] inmathematics, Spanish andphotography. Daley decided not to undertake anInternational Baccalaureate course because of the pressures he faced in his preparation for the 2012 Olympics. He passed all GCSE[44] and A-level exams with A or A*.[45]
In January 2007, at the age of twelve, Daley was given a special dispensation to compete at the2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival.[46] The usual minimum age is fifteen. Competing with a persistent thumb injury, Daley won the silver medal with synchro-partner Callum Johnstone in the 10 m synchronised diving final.[47]
Daley, who trained at theCentral Park Pool in Plymouth, was givenNational Lottery funding to help him in covering his training and competition expenses, and the cost of related support services.[27]
Later in 2007, he won the senior platform title at theAmateur Swimming Association (ASA) National Championships, the national championship for English divers. In 2007, he also began to compete onInternational Swimming Federation's (FINA) international diving circuit of Grand Prix and World Series events, twice finishing fourth in individual competition.
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Daley won the 2007BBC Sports Personality of the Year Young Personality award. He was considered a medal prospect for the2012 Summer Olympics in London from this time, and was one of the British Olympians being tracked through the years leading up to London 2012 by the BBC television seriesOlympic Dreams.
In January 2008, Daley won the 10 m platform event at the British Championships and became the youngest winner of the senior British 10 m title.[48] He also won the 10 m platform synchro title with new partnerBlake Aldridge.
Two weeks later, Daley won his first medals on the FINA circuit, winning a bronze in the individual platform competition and a silver in synchro at the Madrid Grand Prix.[49] Daley and Aldridge won bronze in synchro at the 2008 FINA Diving World Cup. Their score was a British record and Daley became the youngest ever male medallist in a world diving event.[50] Daley came seventh in the individual competition. In March 2008, Daley became the youngest person to win a gold medal at theEuropean Championships, held inEindhoven.[51] The previous youngest winner was the Scottish swimmerIan Black, who won a European gold in 1958 at the age of 17.
Daley qualified for theBeijing 2008 Olympics in the individual 10 m dive competition and, following the retirement of 2004 silver medallistLeon Taylor, in the 10 m platform synchro competition. Some in the British media reported that in competing he would become the youngest-ever male British Olympian,[52] until it was ascertained that Ken Lester,cox to the rowing pair at the1960 Summer Olympics, had been 13 years and 144 days old at the time.[53] In the Olympic synchronized 10 m platform competition, they placed eighth,[54] while in the individual 10 m platform competition, he finished seventh.[55]
A month after his appearance at the Olympics, Daley participated in the FINA Junior World Championships for the first time (being too young to enter before). He finished second in the category "B" platform competition (for 14- and 15-year-old boys) with 549.60 points, between China'sQiu Bo (551.85 points) and Wu Dongliang (474.00 points).[56] He came second in the 3-metre springboard competition in the same category with 485.25 points, sandwiched between the two Chinese divers, Wu Dongliang (510.25 points) and Wang Peng (470.40 points).
In February 2009, Daley retained his individual British 10 m championship, setting a competition personal best score of 517.55 points, 133.45 points ahead of the second-placed diver. He was unable to defend his 10 m synchronized title, as his dive partner Blake Aldridge had been injured in a brawl at a nightclub several days before the championships and was unable to dive.[57][58] In March 2009, he improved his personal best to 540.70 in coming third at a Diving World Series event in China,[59] and the following month he improved it to 540.85 while finishing second at the World Series event inSheffield.[60]
During the Olympics, Daley had a row with diving partnerBlake Aldridge when the latter phoned his mother between rounds. When Aldridge missed the British Championships because of the injury sustained in the nightclub incident, Daley's father said he would like his son to have a different diving partner. In April 2009, he started to dive withMax Brick, who is two years his senior, compared with the twelve-year gap with Aldridge.[61] The pair achieved a silver medal in the 10 m synchronized event atFort Lauderdale on 8 May 2009.[62] Daley won the individual event in a new personal best of 554.90, scoring a perfect set of seven 10s for one of his dives.[63]
In the 2009 FINA World Championships, held in Rome, Daley unexpectedly won the individual platform title despite his lower tariff, with a score of 539.85 points, when his opponents had poor final dives – Qiu Bo finished on 532.20 points, Zhou Luxin on 530.55.[64] In the 10 m platform synchronized event at the World Championships, Daley and Brick finished in 9th place following an inconsistent series of dives by the new pairing.[65]
In the February 2010 British Championships individual 10 m competition, Daley unveiled his 5255B dive (back two-and-a-half somersault, one-and-a-half twists, with pike) in competition for the first time, giving him a 3.6 tariff dive (reduced from 3.8 in FINA's September 2009 DD tables[66]). In this competition Daley finished in second place, 40.05 points behindPeter Waterfield.[67][68]
In the March 2010 FINA Diving World Series event inQingdao individual 10 m competition, Daley showcased his two new dives and finished in 4th place, 520.35 points (his best score of the year).[69]
In the first April 2010 FINA Diving World Series event held inVeracruz, Mexico, Daley failed to qualify for the final round of the individual 10 m competition. A second event was held in the same venue three days later to replace the Sheffield DWS event which was cancelled because of the eruption of the Icelandicvolcano Eyjafjallajökull. Daley finished in fourth place, with a score of 519.70 points – his second highest score of the season (just 0.8 points away from bronze).[70]
In August 2010, Daley attended theEuropean Championships inBudapest, Hungary, intending to defend his individual 10 m title. However, an injury to his triceps muscle in the 10 m synchro competition forced his withdrawal from the synchro and individual 10 m competitions, and placed his participation in the inauguralYouth Olympics inSingapore in the following two weeks in doubt.[71][72] It was later announced that Daley would dive in the 3 m springboard but not in the 10 m platform.[73] Daley took part in the 3 m springboard diving competition and finished in 9th place.
On 12 October 2010, Daley attended the2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. He and his teammateMax Brick won the gold medal for Synchronized 10 m Platform Competition.[74] The following day he also won gold in the 10 m Individual Platform competition.
In November 2010, Daley was announced as a nominated sportsman for theBBC Sports Personality of the Year 2010 and the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2010.[75] He won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2010 for the third time in his career,[76] and is the first person to receive this award three times.
For the 2011 season, Daley was paired in the synchronized competitions with2004 Athens Olympic silver medallistPeter Waterfield in British Swimming's continuing efforts to find the best synchro pairing for the 2012 Olympics.[77] At the 2011 National Cup, the British Championship was held in the newSouthend Swimming and Diving Centre on 28–30 January and Daley came second in the 3m springboard competition behind Jack Laugher. With Waterfield, he won the 10 m platform synchronized competition.[78] The following day, Waterfield beat Daley to the individual 10 m platform title for the second successive year, by 494.25 points to 472.35, with Max Brick third with 399.80.[79]
In the2011 World Championships, held in Shanghai, China, he was again paired with Waterfield in the 10 m synchro event. In the week before the competition, Waterfield was struck by a flu-like illness for five days, and consequently they finished in sixth place.[80] In the individual event, Daley finished in fifth place on 505.10 points, behindQiu Bo (585.45),David Boudia (544.25),Sascha Klein (534.50), andViktor Minibaev (527.50).[81]
On 27 July 2011, Daley took the first dive in London's newly built Olympic Park Aquatics Centre marking the one-year countdown until thegames begin. It was broadcast live on BBC One and when interviewed he said "Marking the one year to go, by diving in the Aquatics Centre is an incredible honour. Only a few years ago, this was a distant dream. The fact that I qualified at the weekend and am taking the first dive is a complete privilege. I can't wait for next year and the honour of representing Team GB."[82]
In the 2012 season, a thumb injury forced Daley's withdrawal from the National Cup a few days before the competition (the 10 m platform title was won by Max Brick). In February 2012, British Diving's Performance Director Alexei Evangulov criticised Daley's work ethic, stating that he feared Daley's media and commercial activities were to the detriment of his training for the Olympics – a comment which was seemingly backed up when Daley and Pete Waterfield could only finish 7th in the 10 m synchro competition in the FINA World Cup event held at theLondon Aquatics Centre.[83]
Following a clear-the-air meeting between Daley, Evangulov, and Daley's representatives, Daley participated in the 2012 FINA Diving World Series. In the first event held inDubai, Daley and Waterfield finished 4th in the 10 m synchro event, while Daley won silver in the individual 10 m event.[84] In the event held in Beijing a week later, Daley and Waterfield won the silver medal in the 10 m synchro event, while in the individual event Daley won silver and Waterfield the bronze.[85] Three weeks later, in the Moscow event, Daley won silver in the individual platform event, while the pairing finished fifth in the synchro.[86] In the final DWS meet of the year, inTijuana, Mexico, Daley won gold in the individual platform event, and the pairing with Waterfield won bronze in the synchro event, although the Chinese did not compete in these events at this meet.[87] Over the whole 2012 Diving World Series, Daley and the Daley/Waterfield pairing won both the overall individual and synchro 10-metre competitions.[88]
In April 2012, Daley won the British elite juniors 10-metre platform title by a margin of 140 points at thePlymouth Life Centre.[89]
In May 2012, Daley regained the European 10-metre platform title when he won gold at theEindhoven championships with a score of 565.05 points, 49.65 ahead ofViktor Minibaev in silver position.[90]
In theBritish GasDiving Championships held in Sheffield in June 2012, which were also the Olympic trials, Daley and Waterfield won the 10 m synchro platform title with a new British record score of 475.77, more than 140 points ahead of silver medallists Daniel Goodfellow and Ross Haslam on 333.72.[91] In the individual 10 m championship, Daley regained the title for the first time since 2009 with a score of 547.60, ahead of Peter Waterfield on 452.80 and James Denny on 390.20.[92]
In Britain, Daley had long been considered one of the "poster boys" of the2012 Summer Olympics, (literally – an 80-foot tall banner depicting him adorned theJohn Lewis department store inCardiff, while a 40-foot tall banner of his female equivalent,heptathleteJessica Ennis, was on theSheffield branch of the store chain.[93])
It was hoped that the10 m men's synchronized platform event, on the first Monday of the Games, would provide Daley and Waterfield with an opportunity to supplyTeam GB's first medal of the Games. However, while the pairing was leading the competition after three dives, a poor reverse 3 1/2 somersaults with tuck in the fourth round put them out of contention and they ended the competition in fourth place on 454.65 points, behind the Chinese pairing ofCao Yuan andZhang Yanquan on 486.78 points, the Mexican pairing ofIván García andGermán Sánchez on 468.90 points, and the US pairing ofDavid Boudia andNick McCrory on 463.47 points.[94]Following this disappointment, there was controversy when Daley was the subject of some abusiveTwitter messages, which resulted in the police arresting a 17-year-old boy in Weymouth, Dorset, and a 28-year-old professional footballer for publishing offensive messages.[95]
Returning to theAquatics Centre on the final Friday of the Games for the10 m men's platform event, Daley initially gave his fans cause for concern with a poor performance in the preliminary round where he was ranked 15th of the 18 qualifying divers for the semi-final with 448.45 points (the eventual gold medal winner, David Boudia, ranked 18th). A much better performance in the semi-finals the next morning left Daley in fourth position on 521.10 points, behindQiu Bo on 563.55,Lin Yue on 541.80, and Boudia on 531.15. The final round began in dramatic form when Daley's star status almost led to his undoing – a large number of camera flashes while he was diving distracted him and he only scored 75 points; a protest to the referee resulted in him being allowed to retake the dive, when he scored 91.80. By the beginning of the final round of dives in an enthralling contest, Daley was in the lead over Qiu Bo and David Boudia by 0.15 points, but Daley's final dive had adegree of difficulty of only 3.3 while his rivals both had 3.6 dives, and Daley won the bronze medal with 556.95 points while Boudia won gold with 568.65 points and Qiu Bo won silver with 566.85 points.[96][97]
At the 19th FINA World Junior Diving Championships, held in October 2012 in Adelaide, Australia, Daley led a strong British team and rather unexpectedly won the Boys "A" 3 m synchronized springboard competition together withJack Laugher, who had won the individual 3 m competition, they had had little practice together. Daley and Laugher scored 338.85 points, over 30 points ahead of Ilia Kuzmin and Maxim Popkov.[98]
In the 10 m individual platform event, Daley won the competition with a score of 663.95, ahead ofYang Jian on 611.95 andChen Aisen on 597.20, scoring five 10's and two 9.5's on his fifth dive.[99][100]
In January 2013, Daley was involved in the ITV celebrity diving showSplash!, where he was an expert adviser to the celebrity contestants.[101] While the show got a largely negative critical response, it nevertheless got the largest ratings on each of the five Saturday nights it was broadcast, and was renewed for a second season in 2014. Daley was warned byBritish Swimming chief executive David Sparkes that taking part in the series would risk damaging his chances of winning an Olympic gold medal in the future.[102]
At the British Gas Diving Championships held at his home pool in Plymouth on 8–10 February, Daley only competed in the individual 10-metre platform event, which he won with 501.00 points, ahead ofJames Denny on 374.90 points andDaniel Goodfellow on 340.25 points. Daley did not compete in the 10 m synchro platform event, as his partner Peter Waterfield had lost his funding following this Olympiad, and his future synchro partner had yet to be determined.
Daley's participation in competitive diving in 2013 was seriously restricted by an injury in May. In April he won the 10 m competition at theEdinburgh leg of the Diving World Series, but while subsequently training for the Diving Grand Prix event at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Daley injured his elbow and was forced to withdraw from the Fort Lauderdale competition and the subsequent DWS event in Mexico.[103][104] In training for the 2013 World Championships, in Barcelona, Daley suffered a torn triceps for the third time, and only competed following intense medical attention and painkilling injections; he finished the individual 10 m competition in 6th place.
At the beginning of 2014, Daley moved his training base from theLife Centre inPlymouth to theLondon Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park in east London, with a new coach,Jane Figueiredo.[105]
In January 2014 Daley was involved in the second series ofSplash!.[106] Ratings were not as good as the first season, and the show was cancelled.
In the FINA Diving World Series, Daley came third in the 10 m platform competition at the Beijing round, scoring 525.05 points, behind China'sCao Yuan on 579.45 and Qiu Bo on 534.05 points.[107]
In 2014, Daley hosted a six-part travel series forITV2 calledTom Daley Goes Global.[108]
At the2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Daley won a silver medal in the men's synchronized 10 m platform with diving partner James Denny and gold in the men's 10 m platform, with 516.55 points, retaining his title from theCommonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.[109]
In August 2014 at theEuropean Championships in Berlin, the Daley/Denny partnership finished fourth in the10 m platform synchro competition, in only their second competition,[110] while Daley won the silver medal in the10 m platform competition, with 535.45 points, behind Russia'sViktor Minibaev who had 586.10 points.[111]
For the 2015 season, Daley dropped the "demon dive" (backward 2.5 somersault with 2.5 twists, piked) which he had experienced difficulty with for several years, and replaced it with a forward 3.5 somersaults with one twist, which he called his "firework" dive and displayed for the first time at the British championships in Plymouth in February.[112]
At the British championships held in his old home pool in Plymouth, Daley won the individual 10 m platform title for the fifth time, with 493.70 points, ahead of 14-year-oldMatthew Dixon on 427.15, andMatty Lee on 413.20.[113]
In the season's opening meet of theFINA Diving World Series, in Beijing, Daley conceded that the new dive still needed "work to be done" on it, as he failed to qualify for the final round.[114] Overall, throughout the years' DWS meets, in the 10 m platform competition Daley won the silver medal in theDubai,Windsor, Ontario, andMérida, Mexico legs, and gold in London, whilst withAlicia Blagg he won bronze in the mixed synchronized 3m springboard at Windsor and at Mérida.
At theWorld Championships held inKazan, Russia, Daley won the gold medal withRebecca Gallantree in the inauguralteam event competition (Daley diving twice from the 10 m platform and once from the 3 m springboard, Gallantree diving once from the platform and twice from the springboard).[115] In the individual 10 m platform event he later won the bronze medal with 537.95 points, behind Qiu Bo on 587.00 and David Boudia on 560.20, having recovered from being in ninth place after the second round.[116]
For the 2016 season, Daley was paired withDaniel Goodfellow for the 10 m men's platform synchro competition, with a view to competing in the2016 Rio Summer Olympics in this sport.
At the British National Diving Cup, the British Championships, held in January, Daley won a gold in the individual 10 m platform competition with 545.80 points, ahead of Matty Lee on 461.00 and Dan Goodfellow on 419.35 points.[117] In the synchronized 10 m platform competition, Daley and Goodfellow won the competition, but they were the only entrants in the competition after Lee andJames Denny withdrew following a power cut at the venue.[118]
Daley and Goodfellow got bronze at the2016 FINA Diving World Cup,[119] earning them a spot in the10 m synchro competition at the Olympic Games.[120]At the2016 FINA Diving World Series, which consisted of four competitions, Daley earned six medals. In the synchro event, he and Goodfellow medalled at each of the four competitions, earning two silver and two bronze medals. In the individual event, Daley earned a silver and a bronze medal.[121]
At the2016 Summer Olympics, Daley and Goodfellow won a bronze medal in thesynchronized 10 m platform. In theindividual 10 m platform, Daley placed first in the preliminaries (with an Olympic record score of 571.85 points, which was later broken by Chen Aisen in the finals). However, he had difficulties the next day, placing 18th in the semi-finals and failing to qualify for the finals.
In the2017 FINA World Series, Daley took home 1 bronze medal in Beijing (10 m Platform), 3 bronze medals in Kazan (10 m Platform, 10 m Synchro, and 3 m Mixed), and one silver medal in Guangzhou (10 m Platform). On 22 July 2017, he won the gold medal in the 10 m platform event at the FINA World Championships held in Budapest.
In the2018 FINA Diving World Series, Daley won 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal in Beijing (3 m Mixed and 10 m Synchro), 1 silver medal in Fuji (3 m Mixed), 1 silver medal in Montreal (3 m Mixed), and 1 silver medal in Kazan (3 m Mixed).
At the2018 Commonwealth Games held at theGold Coast,Australia, Daley and Goodfellow won gold on the men's synchronized 10-metre platform.[122]
Daley partnered with Matty Lee starting in October 2018 in the men's synchronized 10-metre platform.[123] At the2019 World Aquatics Championships held inGwangju, South Korea, Daley and Lee finished in the bronze position in the10 m synchro.[124]
At the2021 FINA Diving World Cup, which was held in Japan as an official test event for the2020 Tokyo Olympics,[a] Daley won his first World Cup gold with Matty Lee in synchronized 10 m platform.[125] He also won gold in the individual 10 m platform.[126] At theEuropean Championships held inBudapest, Daley and Lee also won gold insynchronized 10 m platform,[127] and a silver in theindividual 10 m platform.[128]
On 26 July, Daley and Lee won the2020 Olympic gold medal in theMen's synchronized 10 m platform diving event.[129]
On 7 August, Tom Daley qualified for the final of Men's individual 10 m platform diving, improving on his performance in the individual event at Rio 2016.[130] He went on to win bronze in the final.[131]
Daley was selected to take part in the 10 metre platform synchronised event at the2024 Summer Olympics in Paris withNoah Williams;[132][133] the pair went on to win the silver medal.[134] He was also chosen to be one ofTeam GB's flag-bearers at the opening ceremony alongside rowerHelen Glover.[135][136][137] The day after the closing ceremony, Daley announced his official retirement from diving.[138][19]
| Competition | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games, 10 m | 7th | 3rd | 18th** | 3rd | ||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games, 10 m (synchro) | 8th† | 4th@ | 3rd= | 1st£ | 2nd# | |||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||
| FINA World Championships, 10 m | 1st | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 1st | 7th | ||||||||||||
| FINA World Championships, 10 m (synchro) | 9th§ | 6th@ | 4th= | 3rd£ | ||||||||||||||
| FINA World Championships, 3 m mixed synchro | 2nd♠ | 4th♠ | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA World Championships, team event | 1st& | |||||||||||||||||
| European Championships | ||||||||||||||||||
| European Championships, 10 m | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | ||||||||||||||
| European Championships, 10 m (synchro) | 6th† | 4th% | 2nd= | |||||||||||||||
| Commonwealth Games | ||||||||||||||||||
| Commonwealth Games, 10 m | 1st | 1st | ||||||||||||||||
| Commonwealth Games, 10 m (synchro) | 1st§ | 2nd% | 1st= | |||||||||||||||
| FINA/World Aquatics Diving World Series | ||||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Windsor, Ontario, Canada 10 m | 2nd | 3rd | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Windsor, Ontario, Canada mixed 3 m springboard | 3rd* | 2nd= | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Montreal, Quebec, Canada mixed 3 m springboard | 2nd♠ | 2nd♠ | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 10 m | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 10 m synchro | 2nd£ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Changzhou, China, 10 m | 3rd | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Nanjing, China, 10 m | 4th | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Qingdao, China, 10 m | 4th | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Beijing, China, 10 m | 3rd@ | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | |||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Beijing, China, 10 m (synchro) | 2nd@ | 3rd= | 3rd= | |||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Beijing, China, 3 m mixed synchro | 2nd♠ | 3rd♠ | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Sagamihara, Japan, 10 m | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Sagamihara, Japan, 10 m (synchro) | 4th£ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Sagamihara, Japan, 3 m mixed synchro | 3rd♠ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Fuji, Japan, mixed 3 m springboard | 2nd♠ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Tijuana, Mexico, 10 m | 5th | 1st | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Tijuana, Mexico, 10 m (synchro) | 5th† | 3rd@ | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Veracruz, Mexico, 10 m | 4th | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Guanajuato, Mexico, 10 m | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Guanajuato, Mexico, 10 m (synchro) | 4th@ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Mérida, Mexico 10 m | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Mérida, Mexico mixed 3 m springboard | 3rd* | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Doha, Qatar, 10 m | 6th | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Moscow, Russia, 10 m | 5th | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Moscow, Russia, 10 m (synchro) | 5th@ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Kazan, Russia, 10 m | 2nd | 3rd | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Kazan, Russia, 10 m (synchro) | 3rd= | 3rd= | 3rd£ | |||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Kazan, Russia, mixed 3 m springboard | 2nd♠ | 3rd♠ | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Dubai, UAE, 10 m | 2nd | 4th | 2nd | 7th | ||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Dubai, UAE, 10 m (synchro) | 4th@ | 2nd= | ||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, London, UK 10 m | 5th | 1st | 3rd | |||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, London, UK 10 m (synchro) | 1st£ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, London, UK mixed 3 m springboard | 1st♠ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Edinburgh, UK, 10 m | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Sheffield, UK, 10 m | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | ||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving World Series, Sheffield, UK, 10 m (synchro) | 5th† | 1st† | 5th§ | 1st@ | ||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving Grand Prix, Fort Lauderdale, USA, 10 m | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving Grand Prix, Fort Lauderdale, USA, 10 m (synchro) | 2nd§ | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving Grand Prix, Madrid, 10 m | 4th | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Diving Grand Prix, Canada, 10 m | 10th | |||||||||||||||||
| National Championships | ||||||||||||||||||
| British Championships, 10 m | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||||||||
| British Championships, 10 m (synchro) | 1st† | 1st@ | 1st@ | 1st= | ||||||||||||||
| British Championships, 10 m (Junior) | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||||||||||||||
| British Championships, 3 m | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||
| British Championships, 3 m (Junior) | 4th | |||||||||||||||||
| British Championships, 1 m | 17th | |||||||||||||||||
| ASA National Championships, 10 m | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| ASA National Championships, 10 m (synchro) | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| ASA National Championships, 10 m (Junior) | 2nd | 1st | ||||||||||||||||
| ASA National Championships, 3 m (Junior) | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||||||||||||||
| ASA National Championships, 3 m | 2nd | 5th | ||||||||||||||||
| Junior championships | ||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Youth Olympics, 3 m | 9th | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Junior Diving World Championships, 3 m synchro ("A") | 1st? | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Junior Diving World Championships, 3 m ("B") | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||
| FINA Junior Diving World Championships, Boys 10 m Platform | 2nd | 1st | ||||||||||||||||
| ASA Elite Junior National Championships, 1 m | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| ASA Elite Junior National Championships, 3 m | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| ASA Elite Junior National Championships, 10 m | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| CAMO Invitational Meet, 10 m | 6th | |||||||||||||||||
| CAMO Invitational Meet, 10 m (synchro) | 1st† | |||||||||||||||||
| Australian Junior Elite Diving Championships, 10 m | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
| Australian Junior Elite Diving Championships, 3 m | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||
| Aachen Junior International, 10 m | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||
| Aachen Junior International, 3 m | 3rd | |||||||||||||||||
† withBlake Aldridge
§ withMax Brick
@ withPeter Waterfield
? withJack Laugher
% withJames Denny
& withRebecca Gallantree
* withAlicia Blagg
= withDaniel Goodfellow
♠ withGrace Reid
£ withMatty Lee
# withNoah Williams
** semi-final result
Daley's current dives are:[139]
Daley created aYouTube channel on 23 August 2010. His channel covers various topics such asvlogs, exercise and food. As of August 2024, Daley has over 1.2 million subscribers with over 180 million views.[140]
On 2 December 2013, Daley released a YouTube video announcing that he had been in a relationship with a man since early that year. He said: "I've never been happier."[141][142] Daley said that it had been a tough decision to speak out about his private life, but he had never before felt that feeling of love, which happened very quickly when he met his husband,[143] American film screenwriter, director and producerDustin Lance Black.[144] Daley and Black met at an industry event, with Daley later saying that it was "a real love-at-first-sight thing".[145][146] He announced their engagement on 1 October 2015.[147][148] Daley and Black married atBovey Castle inDevon on 6 May 2017.[149] Their first child, a son, was born throughsurrogacy in June 2018.[150][151] The couple's second son was born in March 2023.[152] The couple moved fromLondon toLA in 2024.[153]
When asked about hissexual orientation in a July 2015 interview withThe Guardian, Daley said: "I don't put a particular label on any of it because right now I'm in a relationship with a guy, but I still have sexual feelings towards girls".[154] He said in another interview that he had been in sexual relationships with girls, but his sexual feelings became "much more intense" when he met Lance.[155] In July 2021, Daley referred to himself as a "gay man".[156]
Daley likes toknit andcrochet, hobbies he took up when theCOVID-19 pandemic lockdown began.[157] During the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics television coverage of diving events, Daley was frequently shown knitting in the stands while he watched other athletes compete.[158][159][160][161] He maintains a separateInstagram account dedicated to his knitting and crochet projects.[157][162] In November 2024 an exhibition of his knitting work in Japan was announced, which would be part of his campaign for the rights of LGBTQ+ people.[163]
In August 2014, Daley was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardian opposingScottish independence in the run-up to September'sreferendum on that issue.[164]
In a statement made on the eve of theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018, Daley called onCommonwealth countries to repeal theiranti-gay laws.[165][166] In response, the-thenUK Foreign SecretaryBoris Johnson toldBBC Radio 1'sNewsbeat that he would raise concerns about gay rights with leaders ofcountries where homosexuality is illegal.[167] There have been repeated calls from theOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for governments to safeguard the rights of their vulnerableLGBT minorities.[168][169][170][171]
In October 2021, Daley said he would make it his "mission" to campaign for countries where homosexuality is punishable by death to be banned fromthe next Olympics.[172]
In 2015, Daley became a patron of the LGBT+ charitySwitchboard and collaborated with YouTuberCalum McSwiggan to relaunch the charity under its new name.[173][174]
In October 2017, Daley hosted theVirgin HolidaysAttitude Awards for the first time.[175]
On 30 September 2018, he was the guest onBBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs. His favourite choice was "How Long Will I Love You" byEllie Goulding. His book choice wasHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone byJ. K. Rowling and his luxury item was an oven.[176]
On 25 December 2021, he delivered theAlternative Christmas message forChannel 4.[177]
Since 2023, Daley has been one of several British Olympians and Paralympians to feature in adverts forBritish Gas.[178]
In July 2024, it was announced that Daley would joinEurosport as part of its on-screen team of pundits for its coverage at theParis Olympics.[179] In August of the same year, Daley partnered withMalibu and theRoyal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) as part of their "Drink Don't Dive" campaign, with Daley creating and modelling a range of knittedswim briefs,sunglasses, abucket hat and sliders to raise funds for RLSS UK, and raise awareness of the dangers of swimmingafter drinking.[180] Malibu and RLSS UK repeated their partnership with Daley at Christmas 2024, with Daley designing a knittedChristmas jumper reading "Drink Don't Drive" to raise awareness of the dangers ofdrink-driving.[181]
In May 2025, Daley was announced as a contestant on the first series ofThe Celebrity Traitors.[182] He competed as a faithful but was ultimately the second player to be "murdered" in episode 3.[183]
In June 2025, the documentaryTom Daley: 1.6 seconds, directed by Vaughan Sivell, was released, exploring Daley's life and career. The 90-minute programme, a collaboration betweenWarner Bros. Discovery and theOlympic Channel, premiered onHBO Max on 1 June, after a world premiere inLyon, France, and was subsequently broadcast onEurosport on 23 June. The documentary explores his journey from his first Olympics in 2008 to his final appearance inParis 2024, delving into his personal challenges and featuring interviews with his family and coaches.[184]
In November 2025, Daley started presentingGame of Wool: Britain's Best Knitter, aChannel 4 craft competition about knitting and crochet.[185][186]
Daley was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2022 New Year Honours for services to diving, LGBTQ+ rights and charity.[187][188]
 |
| Year | Award-giving body | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | BBC Sports Personality of the Year | BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | Won | ||
| The Herald Awards | Sports Personality of the Year | Won | |
| 2008 | BBC Sports Personality of the Year | BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year | Nominated |
| 2009 | BBC Sports Personality of the Year | ||
| BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year | Won | ||
| The Daily Telegraph/Aviva School Sport Matters Awards | Student of the Year (Male) | ||
| The Herald Awards | Sports Personality of the Year | ||
| 2010 | BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards | Best Sports Star | |
| BBC Sports Personality of the Year | BBC Sports Personality of the Year | Nominated | |
| BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year | Won | ||
| Laureus World Sports Awards | Breakthrough of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2011 | BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards | Best Young Sports Star | Won |
| 2012 | Best British Sports Star | ||
| Male Hottie of the Year | |||
| The Herald Awards | Sports Personality of the Year | ||
| 2013 | Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards | Favourite UK Sports Star | |
| 2014 | Attitude Awards | Man of the Year[210] | |
| 2017 | British LGBT Awards | Independent Influencer Award[211] (withDustin Lance Black) |
When Thomas Robert Daley dives...
|
|
|
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flagbearer for United Kingdom(withHelen Glover) París 2024 | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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