Tom Daley RETIRES from diving at 30, after winning five medals at five Olympic Games, as he announces his new career plans

Tom Daley has confirmed his retirement from diving in an emotional statement.

Daley, who won silver in the men’s synchronised 10m platform with partner Noah Williams at the 2024 Olympic Games, has admitted that it’s the ‘right time to call it a day’. 

Across his illustrious career, the 30-year-old has won five medals at five Olympic games and became Britain’s youngest ever Olympian at just 14 back in 2008.

Daley was also the first Team GB diver to win four Olympic medals, adding a fifth in Paris with a first silver, before calling an end to his career on Monday afternoon.

Speaking to Vogue, Daley said: ‘It was emotional at the end, up there on the platform, knowing it was going to be my last competitive dive.

‘But I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time.

‘It’s the right time to call it a day.’

Daley, who was overcome with emotion, also spoke with the BBC and said: ‘[It’s] Hard to talk about. I am (so proud of myself) It’s really hard to talk about. Have to hang it up at some time, but I’m very proud.

‘I wanna be with my family and I’m very excited to spend some time with them and feel normal for a couple of days. It’s just very overwhelming. I didn’t mean for it to be timed like this, but I feel very proud of my career.

‘Right now it’s obviously a lot and I’m really happy with how everything’s gone it’s just hard when you say good bye to your sport. 

‘Lots of things to process but I think it’s the right time. This year felt like such a bonus. I got to compete in front of my kids and I got to be flag-bearer, so yeah – bucket list ticked off.

‘I like to think they’re (his family) very proud of me. I am happy, it’s just hard to talk when you have loved something so much.

‘Thank you! The support I’ve had from Great Britain has been so incredible and thank you to everyone who’s been there with me throughout all this. It’s the end of an era, I can look back through my 23 years and be very proud!’.

The 30-year-old, who first represented Great Britain at the tender age of 14 in Beijing, has been a cornerstone of the British diving team for nearly two decades.

A bronze medal at London 2012 ignited a nation’s love affair with the Plymouth-born diver. Subsequent bronze medals in Rio and Tokyo, the latter alongside Matty Lee, showcased Daley’s versatility and determination. His crowning moment arrived in Tokyo, where he finally claimed Olympic gold.

As Daley steps away from competitive diving, he leaves behind a legacy of athletic excellence, courage, and inspiration.

During the Paris Games, Daley revealed how his six-year-old son Robbie inspired him to make a U-turn on his decision to retire.

He said: ‘It’s so special, this time last year deciding to come back and now to be here in Paris diving in front of my son who asked me to come back. 

‘It completes the set, I now have one of every colour.’

The diving star explained that Robbie was mainly excited to to get his hands on a piece of the Eiffel Tower – a feature of every medal at the Paris Games.

He added: ‘He’s six years old now and I think he might remember some of this. 

‘He’s excited to touch a bit of the Eiffel Tower.’

After Tokyo glory he moved to the US with his family and effectively retired from diving. 

But he announced his return after a two-year break in 2023, following a trip to the Olympic museum.

‘I think I always had my mind set on five Olympic games,’ said Daley, ‘Phoenix, our youngest son, was born in Colorado Springs which I didn’t know at the time was where the Olympic and Paralympic city and training centre is and the museum.

‘And we went to the museum before Phoenix was born and at the end of the museum they had this video on what it means to be an Olympian.

‘I remember the video finishing and of course, I was there crying. Lance looked over and thought, “Oh, God. I know what this means”.

‘Robbie was like, “Papa, I want to see you dive in the Olympics”. And that was that.’