Tom Daley: The universe was waiting for me to have a son before I could win gold at the Olympics

Tom Daley believes the universe was waiting for his son to be born before he could win a gold medal at the Olympics.

The 27-year-old diver bagged the top gong in the synchronised diving event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games alongside his diving partner Matty Lee on Monday (26.07.21), which marked his first gold medal after previously winning bronze at both the 2012 and 2016 games.

And after his and Matty’s win, Tom said he believes higher powers were in play to make sure he didn’t win gold before his son Robbie – whom he has with his husband Dustin Lance Black – was born in June 2018.

He told reporters: “It’s kind of unbelievable. I thought I was going to win an Olympic gold medal in Rio [in 2016] and that turned out the complete opposite by a long shot, and it was my husband who said to me that my story wasn’t finished and that my son or child – we didn’t know at the time – needed to be there to watch me win an Olympic gold medal.”

Tom also believes becoming a first-time father has been a “massive turning point” in his diving career, because knowing he has a husband and a son to go home to has helped ease the pressure he feels before each dive.

Speaking to People magazine, he explained: “[Fatherhood has been a] massive turning point in my career as an athlete.

“Because I realised that whether I do really well or whether I do terribly in the pool, that I can go home to a husband and son that loves me regardless. And that feeling, and knowing that love is unconditional … To go and stand on that diving board, I can take that pressure off of myself and I can actually enjoy it and be like, ‘You know what, I’m doing this because I love to do it and how I dive in the pool doesn’t define me.’ ”