Culture

Tokyo 2020: Tom Daley says he feels “empowered” to be a gay Olympic champion

By Zoya Raza-Sheikh

26th July 2021

Tom Daley and Matty Lee have been crowned Olympic champions as the pair won gold in the men’s synchronised 10m platform.

Daley and Lee have snagged Team GB’s second gold medal for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The duo has kick-started Britain’s run for gold as Olympians Tom Pidcock also wins gold for men’s mountain bike cross-country cycling.

Daley will now have three Olympic medals to his name after winning bronze at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 games.

After the win, Daley reflected on securing gold for his home country: “You want to win an Olympic gold medal but never think you actually will,” he said. “I will carry on but I will definitely take a break. There are some beverages with my name on it to celebrate with my husband and family.”

The Olympian added: “This means an incredible amount. All athletes put in such hard work and dedication into our performances. To be an Olympic champion after four attempts at it feels extremely special.”

Daley opened up about his pride in being an Olympic champion and a visible gay man in the public eye.

“There are more openly out LGBTQ+ athletes at this Olympics than any other Olympic games previously. I came out in December 2013 and when I was younger I always felt like I was the one that was alone and different and didn’t fit it and there was something about me that was never going to be as good as what society wanted me to be,” Daley said on the press panel, beside fellow Gold olympian Matty Lee.

The 27-year-old added: “I hope that any young LGBTQ+ person out there can see no matter how alone you feel right now, you’re not alone and that you can achieve anything. There is a whole lot of your chosen family out here, ready to support you.  I think it’s one of those things.

“I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion. I feel very empowered by that because when I was younger I thought I was never going to be anything or achieve anything because of who I was and to be an Olympic champion now just shows you can achieve anything.”

The British diver competed alongside fellow Team GB member Matty Lee in the men’s synchronised 10m platform event, which saw them move to the top of the leaderboard after four dives.

They have broken a 21-year-long first place grip on the event by China, with Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen taking silver on the podium.

“I still can’t honestly believe what is happening. That moment, being about to be announced as Olympic champions, I was gone. I was blubbering,” Daley told BBC Sport.

Tom Daley and Matty Lee scored a total of 471.81 points for the event.

Daley’s Olympic gold medal joins his European, World and Commonwealth gold titles, completing a set for a diver at the top-most level of the sport.

Elsewhere, Team GB swimmer Adam Peaty also took home the gold in Tokyo in the men’s 100m breaststroke event.

Related: Tom Daley and Matty Lee win their first Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020