Britain's golden boy calls it quits
Daley to dive into his knitting business after announcing retirement
LONDON — Former Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley said on Monday that it was the "right time "to retire, as Britain's most successful diver walked away from the sport following the Paris Games.
Daley, who won five Olympic medals during his decorated career, revealed the decision to call time on the sport during an interview with British Vogue.
The 30-year-old bowed out after winning silver in the Olympic men's synchronized 10m platform in France, having clinched the gold medal in the same event at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
"I have to make the decision at some point, and it feels like the right time. It's the right time to call it a day," Daley said.
Daley emerged as the star of British diving after first competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics aged just 14 years old.
He won bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London in the 10m platform, as well as bronze in the men's synchronized 10m platform in Rio 2016.
Daley, whose popularity grew even more after he came out as gay in 2013, had effectively retired after his gold medal success in Tokyo, before deciding to return for a fifth Olympics in Paris in order to compete in front of his two children.
He decided ahead of the event that he would stop diving competitively once he stepped out of the pool in Paris.
"It feels very, very surreal. I felt so incredibly nervous going into this, knowing it was my last Olympics," he told Vogue.
"There was a lot of pressure and expectation. I was eager for it to be done.
"But, when I walked out, and saw my husband (Lance) and kids (Robbie and Phoenix), and my friends and family in the audience, I was like, you know what? This is exactly why I did this.
"It was emotional at the end, up there on the platform, knowing it was going to be my last competitive dive."
