With the 2024 Paris Olympics over, fans are already looking ahead to LA 2028. But one Olympics institution will not be competing in Los Angeles: British diver Tom Daley, who announced his retirement on Monday.
Daley, a five-time Olympian and five-time Olympic medalist, has been a fixture of the Olympics since his first competition in 2008 at age 14. But the 30-year-old diver has decided that his career should come to a close, with Daley telling British Vogue on Monday that now is “the right time to call it a day.”
Near the start of the 2024 games, Daley earned his fifth Olympic medal, a silver, with partner Noah Williams in the men’s 10 meter synchronized dive. Daley was also selected as one of Great Britain’s flag bearers for the opening ceremony, alongside rower Helen Glover.
Daley earned his first Olympic medal in 2012, earning a bronze in the 10 meter platform in front of a home crowd in London. He followed it up with another bronze in the 10 meter synchronized dive with partner Daniel Goodfellow. In Tokyo in 2021, Daley had his best Olympics yet, taking another bronze in the individual event but earning his first gold with partner Matty Lee in the pairs event.
Daley, who came out as gay in 2013, has also been an important figure in the LGBTQ+ community, especially in England. He married his husband, Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, in 2015. The couple has two children; Daley has said that his older son, Robert, was the one who convinced him to compete again in Paris after the Tokyo Olympics.
Daley is also known for knitting and crocheting while in the stands at the Olympics after picking up the hobby during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Paris, that meant knitting a personalized, Paris-Olympics themed sweater.
After arriving back in England on Monday, Daley spoke with the BBC shortly after the Vogue interview dropped, speaking emotionally about the end of his career.
It’s always hard when you say goodbye to your sport,” he told the BBC. “But, you know, I think it’s the right time. This year felt like such a bonus, and I got to compete in front of my family, my kids, and I got to flagbearer, so, bucket list ticked off on every occasion.
