Paris 2024 Olympics: Tom Daley and Adam Peaty share secrets to success over breakfast
As diving icon Tom Daley and swimming legend Adam Peaty head to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, they might reminisce about what would turn out to be the breakfast of champions they enjoyed at the Olympic Village at Tokyo 2020, in 2021.
As opposed to Paris, where all friends and family are returning to the Olympic fray to cheer on and support their loved ones, at the Games in Japan they were necessarily absent and teammates relied on each other for support, friendship and levity.
So, on the morning of 26 July, the British sporting icons had an impromptu breakfast together, fuelling what would turn out to be an auspicious day for both.
Daley was looking for a first-ever Olympic gold medal having started his quest as a 14-year-old at Beijing 2008.
The prodigious talent won his first medal at London 2012, a bronze in the individual event in front of a home crowd and just a year after losing his dad to brain cancer, while Rio 2016 saw a first medal in synchro, a bronze alongside Daniel Goodfellow.
Two years later, Daley nearly quit the sport, telling Olympics.com: "In 2018, I had stress fractures in my shins. I was sick all the time. I just felt completely overwhelmed with the sport of diving and whether I wanted to carry on or not.
"And then Robbie was born, our first child, and from then on, it just shifted my perspective of what matters most. So I started letting go of the things that didn't matter and that were insignificant and weighing me down mentally, and that allowed me to really enjoy my time in diving."
So on he went and headed to Tokyo 2020 eyeing top spot alongside Matty Lee, and this was the day that he would try again.
Tom Daley and Adam Peaty win gold on the same day at Tokyo 2020
Peaty for his part had already secured the holy grail of Olympic gold, claiming top spot in the 100metres breaststroke in Brazil, plus silver in the 4x100m medley relay.
He'd set a world record in the heats, of 57.55s, a second faster than anyone else at that point. He broke that mark again in the final, securing 57.13, which even he looked at with disbelief.
A 28-year wait for a British man to win Olympic gold in swimming was over.
Heading to Tokyo though, Peaty, who overcame a fear of water as a kid, wanted to make more history, and this was the morning of the day at which that could happen.
At 11.18 Japanese time, Peaty took to the water in the final, and 57.37 seconds later he'd not only won Team GB's first medal of Tokyo 2020 but had become the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title.
Four hours later and it was Daley and Lee's turn.
The favourites, Aisen Chen and Yuan Cao from the People's Republic of China were leading throughout until a rare stumble in the fourth dive handed the Brits an opportunity to overtake them from silver-medal position.
The pair nailed a faultless final effort, earning a massive 101.01 points for their forward four-and-a-half somersaults tucked. A short time later and emotional scenes poolside saw tears spilling freely.
A jubilant Instagram post from Daley hours afterwards showed him with gold medal in hand: "Still can’t believe this thing here. I think it’s all to do with the fact that we had breakfast with Adam Peaty this morning. I think his gold rubbed off on us a little bit."
A breakfast of champions, indeed.
Paris 2024 journey awaits for Tom Daley and Adam Peaty
Both return to Paris 2024, with Peaty himself recovering from burnout and managing mental health issues post Tokyo 2020.
"There is nothing I could say which would make anyone understand what you have to do to get there," Peaty has said.
Daley and Peaty have found ways to manage the pressure of expectations better - both from an outside perspective, and from themselves – and looking to enjoy the experience.
Their competitions are on different days this time, with Peaty, now a father of one, aiming to become the first man to win three consecutive 100m breaststroke Olympic titles, should he make the final on 28 July.
Daley, meanwhile, competes the following day, 29 July, in his sole event, the men's synchronised 10m platform final but is at peace after finally winning gold last time out.
"For me, my Olympic gold medal this time is having my kids there to watch," he said, two weeks before his appearance at the Aquatics Centre in Paris. "And that's really the thing that I'm looking forward to most going into this competition."
As ever, the competitor lurks beneath, with a comment that presumably could come from even of these stand-out athletes.
"Of course, I want to win another medal. That would be lovely," said Daley who this time partners with Noah Williams with Lee absent due to injury. "I think anyone that would say that they don't want to win, and they don't want to win a medal would be lying to you because that's what you go to an Olympic Games for, but we just have to take it one step at a time and do what we can to the best of our ability and the competition."
Peaty has put it more succinctly. With one month until the Games, he posted: "Here we go."