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Tom Daley took away two medals in his return to diving, at the World Diving Series in Sagamihara, Japan.
Tom Daley took away two medals in his return to diving, at the World Diving Series in Sagamihara, Japan.
Balancing parenthood and competing on an international level may seem impossible for many, yet British diver Tom Daley proved his talent once again by winning two medals on his return to the diving board since becoming a father in June 2018.
The Plymouth-born diver shares a son with his husband Dustin Lance Black, with the couple previously admitting they are “besotted” with their boy, Robbie Ray. Yet it was back to business for Daley last week, who competed at the season-opening Diving World Series in Japan.
The former World Champion won silver in the men’s 10m platform and bronze in the mixed 3m synchro with Grace Reid, as well as narrowly missing out on another medal, claiming fourth place in the 10m synchro with his new partner Matty Lee.
This marks a huge achievement for Daley, who told BBC Sport “if anyone had said I was going to come into this with 580 points, I would have taken that and ran with it.”
He still has a chance to go one better though, with the next World Series event being held in China, where he will come up against his rival Yang Jian, who beat him to gold in Japan.
However, Daley wasn’t far behind Yang Jian on the scoreboard, with the Brit falling short by just 6.35 points, although Yang will have home advantage in Beijing.
Despite Daley’s achievements, he will need to be mindful of China’s dominance. In the synchro events, they finished with two additional gold medals, and in both the men and women’s 3m springboard the Chinese won gold and silver medals. But Daley was not the only Brit to claim a spot on the podium, with British diver Jack Laugher achieving third in the men’s 3m springboard.
Nobody can deny Daley’s had an eventful few years, which saw him lose his father, who acted as his coach, and then becoming a parent for the first time. Perhaps this is what is most remarkable about his return to the sport, claiming medals left, right and centre. After taking time out to prioritise his child, many now see him as a strong competitor to help take Great Britain to the next level in the upcoming competitions.