Diving
Tom Daley may have retired from diving after the Paris 2024 Olympics, but he’s as busy as ever.
Three months after winning 10m platform synchro silver alongside British teammate Noah Williams in the French capital, the Los Angeles-based 30-year-old has announced that he will open an immersive knitting exhibition in Tokyo at Parco Museum.
The Japanese city is a fitting location, as it was where Daley claimed 10m synchro Olympic gold alongside Matty Lee in 2021.
At those Games, cameras zoomed in on Daley in the stands, crocheting a now-viral white cardigan adorned with the British logo, the Olympic rings, and the kanji characters for “Tokyo” embroidered on the front.
It was his way of staying calm and present when pressure was at its highest while creating the ultimate memento.
“I’m so excited about the exhibition,” Daley told The Guardian. “It’s been a long time in the works now – over a year. I’ve been working on designs and ideas I wanted to portray. It’s the first time I’ve done anything like this and I feel like it’s really fitting to do it in Japan and Tokyo, which is where the fascination with my knitting began.”
The event runs from 8-25 November with Daley in attendance on the opening day to give a live knitting workshop.
Tom Daley hopes to dive again... for fun
Daley has not stepped on to a diving board since announcing his retirement, but looks forward to enjoying the sport as a spectator in the future.
“I’m busy, but in a different way. It’s been great to be able to spend more time with the kids, but then I’ve also been travelling a lot,” he continued.
“It feels very surreal to be done with diving, but I’ll stay involved. I’ll always watch it and hopefully, I’ll be able to travel to watch competitions. It’s difficult to get access to a diving pool here, so I haven’t been in one since the Olympics. But I’d like to be able to get to the point where I dive for fun again.”
After competing in Paris, Daley worked at the Games as a TV analyst. More media work will no doubt be part of his future plans, alongside his knitting interests and - hopefully - recreational diving.