Tom Daley returns to the pool with two World Cup gold medals in Tokyo

It was Daley's first competition in 14 months and he told of how he 'cried so much' when leaving son Robbie behind to travel to Tokyo.

tom-daley-tokyo-2020
Image: adidas UK | @tomdaley

Tom Daley scooped two gold medals at the Diving World Cup in Tokyo this week. The official test event took place ahead of the Olympics in July in the same city.

On Saturday he, along with diving partner Matty Lee, won the first gold in the synchronised 10 metres. In their first event for 14 months, they achieved a total of 453.60 from their six routines to finish clear of Mexico (405.69) and Canada (393.81).

Tom Daley won the second medal for the individual 10-metre platform final at the Tokyo event on Tuesday. He secured the victory with a stunning back three-and-a-half somersault which scored 104.40 points.

“We haven’t been able to compete for a long time, so it’s been great to have this competition in the Olympic venue,” Daley told the BBC.

“Looking back on the two events, I think it’s been a solid performance. Yes, there are some things I need to work on but overall I’m really happy.”

Daley has already secured qualification for the upcoming Olympics. He has won Olympic bronze twice in previous years and has three World Championship medals to his name.

Before leaving for Tokyo the diver spoke candidly about the difficulties of leaving his two year-old son behind to compete.

“Saying goodbye to Robbie this morning and sending him to nursery, I cried so much. It really hit me. Oh my God I’m not gonna see him for 20 days,” Daley told his 864,000 subscribers in a YouTube vlog of his trip. He has also spoken of his sadness that his son and his husband, Dustin Lance Black, will not be able to travel to see him compete in person this summer.

 

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Daley and Black celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary on Thursday. The pair started dating eight years ago after meeting through a mutual friend when Daley was in Los Angeles and they immediately hit it off.

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