Tom Daley makes history by being named in Team GB diving team for Paris Olympics

Tom Daley, who made his Olympic debut aged 14 in Beijing in 2008, will be 30 when he competes in Paris this summer© Provided by The Telegraph

Tom Daley will become the first British diver to compete at five Olympics after being officially selected for Paris this summer, exactly 16 years after reaching his first Games at the age of 14.

Daley had stood down from competitive diving after winning a gold and a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but announced his comeback last year and has since formed a new partnership with Noah Williams.

The pair won World Championship silver in January and, with Daley’s Tokyo partner Matty Lee currently injured, were formally selected on Monday as Team GB’s representatives in the 10m synchronised event. 

They will dive together in the Paris Olympics test event this week and, although the Chinese pair Hao Yang and Junjie Lian are the gold medal favourites, Daley has been one of the few divers to consistently challenge China’s dominance over the past decade. His gold with Lee in Tokyo was the only Olympic diving event that China did not win.

Daley decided last year that he would return following encouragement from his son Robbie, but has shown no obvious dip in his fitness and form during a comeback that has also included a World Cup win.

He has chosen to remain based in Los Angeles but is back working with long-time coach Jane Figueiredo and has been linking up with Williams on a regular basis this year during competition.

Daley also won bronze in the 10m individual platform in Tokyo but will focus on the synchronised event in Paris as part of what is arguably Britain’s strongest ever diving team.

In the women’s 10m synchronised, Lois Toulson, who will be competing at her third Olympics, and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix will combine following podium finishes at the last two World Championships. 

That recent World Championship success has been matched by Team GB’s women’s three-metre synchronised Paris pairing Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew-Jensen.

The 2016 Olympic champion Jack Laugher is also going for this fourth-straight Games after making his debut at London 2012 and will be partnered in the three metre synchronised by debutant Anthony Harding. 

“There is a fantastic mix of youth and experience within the squad, and I am delighted to welcome Olympic Champions Jack and Tom back,” said chef de mission Mark England. “Congratulations to Tom in particular who becomes the first British diver to compete at five Olympic Games – a remarkable achievement.” 

Story by Jeremy Wilson: The Telegraph: