Tom Daley has revealed he found many positives during lockdown as he was able to enjoy more downtime and see his son Robbie, three, develop.
The Olympic Bronze medal winning diver, who is headed to the Tokyo Olympic Games, shares his son with husband Dustin Lance Black, 47.
Speaking on The Olympic Mile Podcast ahead of the competition, Tom, 27, said: ‘Lockdown was the longest I’ve ever been at my home, ever. I don’t think I’ve ever spent that long in this country.
Family: Tom Daley has revealed he found many positives during lockdown as he was able to enjoy more downtime and see his son Robbie, three, develop (pictured together with husband Dustin Lance Black)
‘So although I would have loved for the Olympics to go ahead last year and wish there was no pandemic in the first place, there were so many positives that came from it for me; to be able to spend much more time with my family, I got to see Robbie grow and develop.
‘Usually in an Olympic year you’re travelling to training camps, competitions and you’re barely home so I got to see so much of him growing up, I just felt very lucky to have that.
‘I had all this spare time to work on myself, my body and it’s been a really good shift in perspective in reminding you of what actually matters most.’
One such activity which kept the Olympic divers mind active was knitting, and he admitted he plans to even take some needles and yarn away with him to the games.
Relaxing: Tom spoke with Aimee Fuller on The Olympic Mile Podcast ahead of the Tokyo games
He revealed: ‘When we went to Japan for the test event I actually took my knitting with me and was doing it during my competition because sometimes there’s 45 minutes in between each dive so I’d sit there and knit and just take my mind off the competition completely. I’m obsessed!’
The father-of-one one joked that his one worry going into the Olympics is he will run out of yarn while he is there.
He added: ‘I’m thinking of taking a little project out there where I’m going to try and create some kind of Olympic themed jumper so I can look back in 20 years and be like ‘I made that at the Olympics’ how cool is that?’
During the podcast, Tom also revealed he no longer puts as much pressure on himself ahead of competitions knowing he is a father and husband, not just an athlete.
Throwback: Tom will be hoping to finally claim a gold medal at this year’s Olympics. Pictured: Tom with his Bronze medal at the London 2012 Victory Parade
He said: ‘Becoming a parent, getting married, now I know that there’s more to life than just diving.
‘I’m more than just a diver, first and foremost I’m a parent, I’m a husband and just knowing that going into a competition means I just don’t seem to be putting as much pressure on myself and I’m not defining myself by my performance.
‘So if I do really well or do terribly I know I’m going to come home and my little Robbie and Lance are going to be there to give me a hug and love me regardless.’
After a hugely successful career, including two Olympic bronze medals and countless medals in various championships, Tom is now the self-confessed ‘grandad of diving’.
Cute: One such activity which kept the Olympic divers mind active was knitting, and he admitted he plans to even take some needles and yarn away with him to the games
Touching on his achievements, he said: ‘I was looking back on some photos and memories from 2008 and I was the youngest then, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into I just went in for the experience and had no pressure essentially.
‘Then in 2012 diving at the aquatic centre, it was a home Olympics, tons of pressure, diving in front of a home crowd – it was pretty intense.
‘In 2016 I knew that I was in my physical and mental peak but then that Olympics turned out the complete opposite to how I thought it would, I was happy coming home with one medal but I thought I was going to come away with two and the individual event went completely the other way.’
And, while having to take several months off due to the pandemic and suffering with a broken hand, Tom said he thinks he would have been prepared for the Olympics if it had gone ahead in 2020.
Change in priorities: Tom (pictured with his son) also revealed he no longer puts as much pressure on himself ahead of competitions knowing he is a father and husband, not just an athlete
He said: ‘My body’s holding up, I’m getting old and I’m having these niggles here and there but at the end of the day I’ve just got to keep training, keep working.
‘I think the biggest tool I have in my armoury now is really my mindset and feeling like I’ve just got to get there and perform, I’ve just got to get to the start line in one piece and the rest will take care of itself.’
And, while getting the double gold is one of his biggest dreams, he admits he doesn’t even think about the medals before he gets on the board.
‘If I start getting ahead of myself, that’s when you can start spiralling out of control,’ he said.
Love: Tom said: ‘So if I do really well or do terribly I know I’m going to come home and my little Robbie and Lance are going to be there to give me a hug and love me regardless.’ (pictured together)