From Beijing to Paris: The Enduring Legacy of Thomas Daley

Thomas Daley is an Olympic gold medalist and a four-time world champion in diving. Daley will be going to Paris as the first British diver to participate in five Olympic Games. Paris Olympics 2024 could be the diver’s last Olympic adventure.

In the Paris Games, Thomas Daley will be partnering with 24-year-old Noah Williams. This is because Matty Lee, his gold medal-winning partner from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is injured after spinal surgery. It is going to be an overwhelming experience for Williams who was among the crowd watching his hero Daley at the London Olympics, 12 years ago.

Daley had a glorious diving journey. He is a one-time Olympic champion, four-time World Champion, a two-time junior World Champion, a five-time European champion and four-time Commonwealth champion. His achievements speak loud of his greatness and legacy.

Thomas Daley will be eyeing for a consecutive gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. While his Olympic journey has gone through ups and downs, Daley would like to end the graph on a high. 

As he sets out for the Paris Olympic 2024, let us have a look at the Olympic trajectory of Thomas Daley. 

2008 Olympics

The Brit’s journey, however, had not been easy. He faced several disappointments in the Olympic Games. Daley qualified for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in the individual 10 m dive competition and in the 10 m platform synchro competition. In the Olympic synchronized 10 m platform competition, Daley and his partner were placed eighth, while in the individual 10 m platform competition, he finished seventh.

2012 Olympics

In Britain, Daley had long been considered one of the “poster boys” of the 2012 London Olympics. In the 10 m men’s synchronized platform event, Daley and his partner Waterfield were eliminated after the fourth round.

In the 10 m men’s platform event, Daley had a bad day giving 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. However, next day Daley made it to the final and won the bronze medal with 556.95 points

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2016 Olympics

At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Daley and his partner Goodfellow won a bronze medal in the synchronized 10 m platform. In the individual 10 m platform, Daley finished 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, finishing 18th in the semi-finals and failing to qualify for the finals.

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2020 Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics 2020 brought better fortune for Daley. Daley and Lee won the 2020 Olympic gold medal in the Men’s synchronized 10 m platform diving event. In the individual 10 m platform, Daley walked away with a bronze medal.