Tom Daleythe 30-year-old British diver who, remarkably, has competed in fiveOlympic Gamesis officially retiring.
It feels very, very surreal, he says.
I felt so incredibly nervous going into this, knowing it was my last Olympics.
Tom Daley in Paris, wearing a Fendi shirt and shorts.
There was a lot of pressure and expectation.
This is exactly why I did this.
Im here, and no matter what happens in the competition itself, Im going to be happy.
Daley’s mother, Debbie, his children, and his husband, Lance, in the stands during the Paris Games.
But I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time.
Its the right time to call it a day.
He qualified for his first Games at the age of 14, competing in Beijing in 2008.
Daley’s croissant bag, which he crocheted for the Paris Games.
But Robert would die from brain cancer three years later.
Daley made global headlines when he came out as gay, via a YouTube video, in 2013.
(At that point, he had neither directly denied nor confirmed his sexuality publicly.)
It infuriated me that somebody would say that.
I never wanted to be seen as lying or hiding from who I was, Daley says.
But he also knows well the specific, occasionally unwelcome responsbilities that come with representation.
And sometimes thats just not in some peoples nature, he says.
I hope well see more in the future.
He replied, Probably because I am half-naked all the time.
These days, his personal audience now reaches north of five million followers.
He seems very comfortable in his own skin.
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Really, he says, laughing, being in trunks all of the time, thats my work attire.
There arent many people that wear more clothes to bed than they do to work.
It feels a little bit like Loewe, he says, grinning.
Daleys croissant bag, which he crocheted for the Paris Games.
That was incredibly scary.
When you dont have that orientation, he says, you know how badly you might hurt yourself.
Ive had stress fractures in my shins.
Ive torn my tricep.
Ive had a fold in my back.
Ive broken my hand.
Ive coughed up blood.
Ive hit my head on the platform twice.
When you get lost in the air, these things go through your mind.
From today, though, the pressure is gone, his dreams realized in full.
For one, his children are growing up fast.
Daley tries to coach him, but he very much does not like to be told what to do.
There are also media, entertainment, and sartorial ventures to consider.
In Paris, Daley stayed through the duration of the Games as a pundit for Eurosport.
He says hes interested in something in front of the camera, maybe.
I ask him if hell dive recreationally.
I dont know, he says.
Its hard to dive that way.
You need the proper setup and pool.
People dont have that at their homes.
Actually being able to let go of itits going to be hard.
And its going to be a major adjustment to figure out how my days are structured.
But his outlook is positiveas bright as the wedges of sun dancing on his hardware.
Then, he adds: To currently be Britains most decorated diver…
I feel so incredibly proud.
When I look back, Im really, genuinely satisfied with what Ive done.
