He’s done it.
Tom Daley and Matty Lee have won the Olympic men’s synchronised 10 metre platform, giving Daley his first ever Olympic gold.
Thirteen years after making his Olympic debut, Daley finally picked up a gold medal as he and his diving partner Lee edged out China’s Cao and Chen by just a point in a thrilling event.
Daley and Lee finished on 471.81 points after their six dives, with the Chinese pair just missing out on gold with a final total of 470.58 points.
Cao and Chen had known that they needed to perform a near-impossible perfect dive to overtake the British pair who performed faultlessly throughout.
When China’s final tally came up on the big screen, there were wild celebrations amongst the British team as they had confirmation that the gold was theirs.
The moment Tom Daley and Matty Lee realised they had won Olympic gold! 🥇🇬🇧https://t.co/QL917cmMqO #bbcolympics #tokyo2020 https://t.co/UKbWnG4ZOe
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 26, 2021
The victory marks an incredible achievement for 23-year-old Matty Lee as well, who was making his Olympic debut and now has a gold medal to his name.
During the medal ceremony, Daley couldn’t hide his emotion, with the magnitude of his achievement finally hitting him.
Tom had picked up bronze medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, but now finally has a the gold that has eluded him.
An emotional @TomDaley1994 can't hold back the tears on the podium 😭
Tom Daley and @mattydiver secure 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 for @TeamGB in the men's synchronised 10-metre platform 🥇🇬🇧#TeamGB | #Toyko2020 | #Diving pic.twitter.com/6kwdh5jZKS
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 26, 2021
Speaking to the BBC after his victory Daly said: “Lots of people probably would have counted me out of this Olympics, being the older person.
“But I’m in the best shape physically, mentally, and with the support of Matty [Lee] coming into this competition and the way we’ve been preparing, I think we’ve just had that unstoppable mentality this year and that’s the first time I’ve ever been able to even think like that.
“I still honestly can’t believe what’s happening. I didn’t even think I was going to get here in the first place, but here we are!
“That moment stood behind that rostrum and about to be announced as Olympic champions, and then to hear the national anthem play, I was gone, I couldn’t even sing!
“I was halfway singing and then I was just blubbering, I just can’t believe it.”
It was the second gold medal that Team GB has picked up on what is already being dubbed Magic Monday, after Adam Peaty defended his 100m breaststroke title earlier in the day.
These two golds have since been followed by a gold for Tom Pidcock in the men’s mountain bike cross-country event.
British triathlete Alex Yee also won silver in the men’s triathlon in the early hours of Monday morning, in a race that was marred by a shambolic false start.
