news

On August 12, according to Xinmin Weekly, after the Paris Olympics, 30-year-old British diving athlete Tom Daley decided to retire. He informed VOGUE magazine of his decision.

At the just-concluded Paris Olympics, Daley and his new partner Noah Williams won the silver medal in the men's 10-meter platform synchronized event. Afterwards, he began knitting sweaters while watching the competition, sparking heated discussions among netizens.

A few days later, Daley posted his final work on his personal social account - a red, blue and white sweater: "The front is 'Paris 24', the French and British flags are below, and the back is 'Daley'."

Daley shows off the sweater he knitted. Source: Chengshi Interactive

As early as the Tokyo Olympics, this diving champion successfully "went viral" because he was concentrating on knitting a sweater in the stands.

Even the International Olympic Committee couldn't help but post a post to make fun of it: "The audience may change, but the knitting is permanent. Daley's knitting has become a permanent feature of the diving scene."

Image source: @Olympic Games

Daley started diving at the age of 8 and was dubbed the "diving prodigy". At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 14-year-old Daley competed for the first time and won 7th place in the single 10m platform and 8th place in the double 10m platform.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Daley won the bronze medal in the single 10m platform and fourth in the double 10m platform. Daley was fighting at home at the time. During the competition, Daley applied for a re-jump on the grounds that he was affected by the flash. Although the application was successful and he won the bronze medal, the "child prodigy" was nicknamed the "7-jump prince".

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Daley said he was "the only player who could stop the Chinese team from winning the gold medal," and eventually won 18th place in the single 10-meter platform and bronze in the double 10-meter platform. Despite winning the bronze medal in the double event, he said he was at the "lowest point in his career."

At the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, Daley partnered with Marty Lee and performed six perfect jumps, narrowly defeating the Chinese combination that made mistakes by 1.23 points and won the coveted men's double 10-meter platform gold medal.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will be Daley's fifth Olympic Games. He also served as the flag bearer of the British Olympic team at the opening ceremony.

Daley has won five Olympic medals in five Olympic Games. Although he failed to successfully defend his title this year, Daley said that the past year was the most enjoyable time he had ever had since he started diving.

Daley said: "The feeling of the Paris Olympics was very unreal. I was very nervous because it was my last Olympics and I had a lot of pressure and expectations at the time. When I stood on the diving platform at the end, I was very excited because I knew it was my last time to participate in diving competitions. But you have to make a decision at some point, and now is the right time."

Now, the man who is known as the "best knitter in the diving world" has announced his retirement. Many netizens lamented that "time flies" and "I hope everything goes well in the future". Some netizens also joked that "now Daley can concentrate on knitting sweaters", "the sweaters he knits are all very beautiful", and "I hope we won't see him knitting sweaters in the stands in the future".

Source: Jiupai News, Xinmin Weekly, Chengshi Interactive, Live Bar, China News Network, netizens’ comments, etc.