It was his adorable son Phoenix, revelling in his father's latest glorious Olympic moment, tossing down his cup in pure excitement as reporters scattered.
It was a moment to justify Daley’s decision to return for Paris 2024 on a glorious Monday in the city, a silver medal was wonderful, but forging memories alongside his young family proved extra special. In his fifth Olympics, Daley and Williams were only beaten by the “flawless” Chinese duo of Junjie Lian and Hao Yang. His medal collection now expands to five following that famous gold in Tokyo and three more bronze medals.
The bubbly Daley was back, yet an hour earlier, he was soaking in his final Olympic dive before an exciting switch to broadcast duties with Eurosport in Paris. The 30-year-old displayed a fierce intensity. Clasping his trademark rainbow towel, the Pride shammy giving greater visibility to LGBT+ athletes and the millions watching around the world, Daley soaked in the final seconds, not knowing if it would be his last dive at the Olympics. He brushed his limbs and twirled the cloth around before a slow march to the top of the 10m platform.
The pair delivered a forward tuck with four-and-a-half somersaults; an explosive dive executed supremely with a crisp entry into the water from both at the Aquatics Centre. The hushed silence before was replaced by a roar with the dizzying 93.24 points enough to clinch a silver medal. If Daley had bemoaned an absence of “razzmatazz” three years ago in Tokyo, that hollow feeling without support due to the Covid pandemic was replaced by a raucous atmosphere here.
Esta historia es de la edición July 30, 2024 de The Independent.
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