Thomas Daley and Matty Lee were the protagonists of a thrilling final in the men’s 10m platform synchro, the second diving event at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. The British pair got the gold in 471.81, thus earning the second male Olympic diving title ever for their country, after the successful milestone in the men’s 3m synchro crown in Rio 2016 (by Jack Laugher/Chris Mears)
Daley is also the first British diver with three medals in Olympic history, after his bronze in 10m individual in London 2012 and 10m synchro in Rio 2016. For China, the silver in 470.58 represents the interruption of a consecutive series of four wins in this event, since 2004. Moreover, the Asian powerhouse had won nine out of the last 10 consecutive finals in the event, both at Olympic and world level (Germany won the final at the Barcelona 2013 FINA showcase).
Incredible last round of dives in the Men 10m Synchro final to decide the Gold Medalists!
— FINA (@fina1908) July 26, 2021
Round 6:🇬🇧101.01 🇨🇳101.52
Final gap👉 1.23 #diving #tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/oLtafloMPd
The turning point of the final here in Tokyo was the fourth round, when Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen missed their entry for a back 3 ½ somersaults (pike), getting a low 73.44 from the judges. Despite a fantastic last round – 101.52 points, the highest of the final, for a back 2 ½ somersaults 2 ½ twists (pike) -, the Chinese pair could never recovered and had to content with the second position, exactly 1.23 points behind the British duet. In that unsuccessful round for China, Daley (2009 and 2017 world champion in 10m) and Lee performed the same combination than their main rivals, getting an excellent 93.96. Two rounds later, the British also didn’t shake in the 109C (forward 4 ½ somersaults, tuck), earning the second-best score of the afternoon, 101.01.
The outcome of the final was sealed, with Cao and Chen being prevented of earning what would have been their third Olympic gold. Cao, a versatile diver, performing both from 3m and 10m, had won the individual springboard in Rio 2016 and the 10m platform synchro in London 2012, while Chen had the two previous 10m titles (individual and synchro) from the Games in Brazil, five years ago.
This amazing fight for the gold, eclipsed the duel for the bronze medal, eventually won by Aleksandr Bondar and Viktor Minibaev, representing the Russian Olympic Committee. It is their first Olympic medal, after having notably excelled in their fourth and sixth round, where they got exactly the same 89.64 points from the judges. At the end, they cumulated 439.92 for the bronze in Tokyo.
The remaining places of the final went to Mexico (fourth, already quite far from the podium, in 407.31), Canada (fifth, 405.00), Ukraine (sixth, 400.44 – the difference of technical level between Oleh Serbin and Oleksii Sereda was evident, with the latter being a clear candidate for the medal in the individual final), Korea (seventh, 396.12) and Japan (eighth, 377.10).
QUOTES
Gold
Thomas Daley (GBR):
On winning the Olympic gold:
“To win an Olympic gold was my lifetime goal! Today, we did the best we could, until the very final dive. Then, waiting for the remaining ones, it seemed a delay of over an hour… I just can’t believe we got the gold. It has been a dream for so long… This gold medal means a lot to me! It means effort, sacrifice and dedication. Being an Olympic champion after 20 years and four attempts is a great feat.”
On the influence of his father, deceased in 2011:
“In 2001, I was six and one day in pool I saw the others diving from the boards and it looked cool. I then decided to try and I pushed my dad to the diving pool. I went one Saturday and then the next one… My dad was my biggest supporter, he would come with me to all events, domestic or international. When he passed away in 2011, it was a very difficult period for me. Then, I also thought that he never saw me winning an Olympic medal, getting married and having a child, taking my driving licence…”
Plans after the Olympic Games in Tokyo:
“The end of my career? Definitively not, I’ll be too sad. I am for sure taking a break, but don’t get me wrong, I’ll continue doing this. Plus, there are still three years until Paris 2024. My body has been through a lot of pain and effort, so I will rest for a while. But I won’t stop!”
On Daley’s being a model for all LGBT athletes:
“When I was young, I was felt a bit alone in this. But now I can say that no matter how lonely you may feel, you are not alone. It’s something I am absolutely proud to say: I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion. You can achieve anything!”
On his three-year son:
“He is full of life and full of energy. He is my most everything! To have his unconditional love, changes also the way I live diving. It was an amazing life changing experience for me, and it remains an incredible journey. To know that my child was watching me today, nothing feels more special than that!”
On the lack of spectators in the venue:
“Of course, 15’000 people in the stands would have changed the dynamics. But when the whistle goes on, that moment of silence remains the same. I take the opportunity to thank the Japanese organisers for letting all athletes enter the country in these so special circumstances. I feel extremely lucky to be able to compete here in Tokyo, at these Olympic Games. They will go down in history as something extremely special!”
Matty Lee (GBR):
On putting the gold medal around Daley’s neck:
“It was a crazy sensation! I am from Leeds, and when I moved in 2018 to London, our goal was to get an Olympic medal, at least. I owe a lot to this guy, he taught me a lot. I had no friends when I came to London, and now we best mates. Tom is someone I always admired, since I was child, since he competed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Putting the gold medal around his neck today, and winning this Olympic title with him, it is very special for me!”
Silver
Cao Yuan (CHN):
On the deception with the silver medal:
“The way we performed during the final should be a case study for all young Chinese divers. They should see how nerves can negatively impact the way you dive. Everyone reacts differently to pressure, and today we reacted in a bad way. I commit a mistake in our fourth round and dragged the team down. This is certainly a shame, but we can take the necessary lessons after what happened today.”
Chen Aisen (CHN):
On the silver medal:
“We made a mistake in the fourth round, as our dives were not as tight as they should be. We then made the necessary adaptations to correct that, but in such a strong field, it was not enough… We weren’t good today and this is of course not good for the glory of our country.”
Bronze
Viktor Minibaev (ROC):
“We are quite happy with our performance and with our medal. In diving, anything can happen and we managed to be very regular today. Before calling our friends and family in Russia, the first ones to share our joy were our coaches here in Tokyo!”