Diving
Triple world champion Tom Daley has announced he will take a competitive break from diving for the rest of this year.
The 23-year-old has been battling a hip injury, after struggling with pneumonia and concussions earlier in the year.
He has now opted to sit out the rest of 2018 in order to fully recover.
“Diving is a huge part of my life, and I have dedicated the last 15 years to it,” the triple world champion told British Swimming.
“I want to keep performing at the highest level for myself, my family and my fans, but in order to do that I need time to take some time to recover."
The Briton is planning to resume training this autumn, but will not enter any major events until 2019.
That means will miss the World Cup in China and the European Championships to be held in Edinburgh in August.
Balancing act
His ailments were more than evident during the Commonwealth Games last month on the Gold Coast. Daley clinched gold in the 10m synchro but was forced to withdraw and could not defend his individual title due to his hip problems.
Last weekend the Olympic bronze medallist teamed up with Grace Reid to finish second in the mixed 3m synchro springboard at the final stop of the World Series in Kazan, Russia.
What's next?
Although he may be stepping away from the pool, there are still plenty of projects for Daley to plunge into!
Undoubtedly the biggest is a new arrival to his family - Daley and his husband Dustin Lance Black are expecting a baby boy later this summer.
“I’ll be using the rest of the year to spend time with my husband and new baby and work on projects close to my heart. I am sure this will give me the time I need to be in a position to compete at my best going into the next Olympics.”
Alexei Evangulov, National Performance Director for British diving shared some insight:
“We have had a meeting with Tom, his coach Jane and our medical team and agree a break from competition is what he needs to enable him to return to his best ability in 2019 and going into Tokyo 2020.
After his return in 2019 Daley will have more than 18 months to prepare for Tokyo 2020 where he is hoping to clinch his elusive Olympic gold after bronze in London and Rio.