This is what it means
Tom Daley and Matty Lee are Olympic champions.
The pair claimed gold in the synchronised 10 metre platform, bringing a surprise end to China’s dominance of the event.
Having posted a final score of 471.81 points, Daley and Lee had a nail-biting wait to see where on the podium they would finish as Chinese pair Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen took their final dive. In the end, it was just enough – the Britons claiming gold by a single point.
It was a particularly emotional moment for Daley who, at the age of 27, has now won his first gold at his fourth Olympiad – 13 years after his debut in the Beijing Games.
He struggled to keep a lid on his emotions in the immediate aftermath of the result’s confirmation and was seen weeping with joy as God Save The Queen played during the medal presentation.
❤️ What an emotional moment for Tom Daley and Matty Lee.
This gold meant so much.
Reaction: https://t.co/X9XIN9s0kF#bbcolympics #tokyo2020 #teamgb https://t.co/ydJ9IjFymV
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 26, 2021
While Daley is a veteran of three other Games, Lee was able to seize gold in his first ever Olympics.
China had run gold in the same event in each of the last four Games. This time, they had to settle, ahead of Aleksandr Bondar and Viktor Minibaev of the Russian Olympic Committee, who took bronze.
Daley and Lee’s victory followed Adam Peaty claiming Britain’s first gold of the Tokyo Games as he powered to a win in the 100m breaststroke.
Away from the aquatics centre, there was also a gold for Tom Pidcock in the men’s cross-country mountain biking – the first time a Briton has ever won a medal in the event.
