Tom Daley is back for Glasgow 2014 and ready to dive into sporting history
Daley gives the inside scoop on poolside competition at the Commonwealth Games, and what it takes to leap off that board.
You’re competing in the 10m platform dive event in Glasgow. Is one board and pool any different from another?
Each board is very different… the length, width, the thickness and also the surroundings. Diving indoors, for instance, is very different to diving outdoors – it’s more difficult to work out where you are in the air when the sky and the pool are the same colour. You’ve also got the wind to contend with, and obviously the lighting can’t be controlled in the same way when you’re outside. We have to spend a few days on the boards before we compete to make sure we’re used to them. The pool in Barcelona is amazing – the backdrop there is hard to beat!
You’ve described a fear over the execution of a new twisting dive. How did the psychotherapy you sought help you?
I was struggling with my twist at the beginning of the year, but I’ve got a great team around me and it’s improved enormously. I got a personal best score out in Mexico in June, and 8s for my twist. I see a sports psychologist and have done for years, all the GB divers do. Diving’s quite a psychological sport, you have to be able to visualise the dive before you can execute it.
Will we be seeing the dive in Glasgow?
More like this
Absolutely! I’ve got the same dive list from London 2012.
Will you be disappointed if you don’t win gold? Who are your main threats?
I go into every competition with the aim to get on the podium. The Australians and the Canadians will be the ones to watch in Glasgow. Australia’s Matthew Mitcham is just back from injury and he’s looking good – he was Olympic champion back in 2008.
Does diving become more or less terrifying the older you get?
As you get older you become more aware of the risks. So I would say it gets scarier, but it’s nothing you can’t deal with and overcome.
Will your boyfriend Dustin be there in Glasgow to support you? Is that added pressure or extra help?
I’ll have my friends and family cheering me on, which is great. That’s one of the benefits of having a major competition so close to home.
Does your diet change as you approach a competition?
I have to maintain a pretty constant weight, so I don’t tend to change my diet. I have a high protein/low carb diet to ensure that I stay lean. As a diver I need to have explosive power and be able to move quickly through the air.
So, if you do break your diet, what’s your guilty pleasure?
Ice cream – I love the stuff!
You were a big hit in the ITV show Splash! – can we expect another series?
I don’t believe any decisions have been made. My training will always come first, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Can you still have a normal night out with your friends, or have you had to resort to wearing disguises?
Hah! I can go out for dinner with friends, I just have to make sure I give myself a bit of extra time to get from A to B!
Tom Daley is taking part in the 10m Platform Final on Saturday 2 August.
