THE golden boy of British diving, Tom Daley, saw his shine tarnished on the penultimate day in Rio when he finished last in the 10m platform semi-final.
Four years ago Daley sneaked through the London 2012 preliminary rounds and then turned it on when it mattered, finishing his semi-final fourth before claiming a bronze medal. This time, he topped the preliminary standings on Friday but could not repeat that performance in the semi-finals.
After a solid opening semi-final dive Daley sat eighth, but that was as good as it got. He was 17th after a disappointing second effort and dead last following an even worse third. Daley scored 81.40 and 91.80 for his next two dives, but, needing to score 101 with his last, he only managed 50.40.
“I have no idea what happened,” he said. “I have been feeling so good, training has been going really well, I am in the shape of my life and I have been moving better than I ever did before.
“I don’t really know what went wrong. I gave it everything and my absolute best and it is heartbreaking to know that four years of hard work and effort was for nothing – it is tough to accept.
“The way I performed in the prelims is how I have been diving for the last three weeks and that is why it is so hard to take in. I am in shock right now.”
However, Daley is not about to give up on his Olympic dream any time soon. He said: “My team-mates have been amazing. To think we have three diving medals from these Games is incredible. It gives you motivation to be standing on the top step of the podium in 2020.
“I don’t know what to think right now but it does give me that kick to come back. I want to be an Olympic champion. It has been my dream since I was a kid to be an Olympic champion.”
The final was won by China’s Aisen Chen, who had already taken gold in the synchronised 10m platform with partner Lin Yue. Silver went to Mexico’s German Sanchez, with David Boudia of the USA claiming bronze.
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