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Olympic Hero: Tom Daley on the streets of Paris after retiring from competitive sport

At exactly 30 years old, Tom Daley, one of the most important (and beloved) British athletes of all time, an icon and activist for LGBT rights, announces his farewell to top-level sport and says goodbye to Paris, thus closing an extraordinary career.

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Photography PARK BURR
Styling JAMES YARDLEY

"It's the end of an era, but it's also the right time to say enough." With Paris 2024 , the Olympic chapter of one of the most important British athletes ever closes. His medals speak for themselves: a gold at Tokyo 2020 , a silver and three bronzes at the Olympic Games, as well as four golds, two silvers and two bronzes at the World Swimming Championships, five golds and three silvers at the European Championships, and four golds and a silver at the Commonwealth Games. Not bad for an athlete who approached diving by chance. "I was very young, I saw some people diving and I wanted to give it a try. I still remember that it was like love at first sight," Tom Daley said in an interview with Simone Vertua for L'OFFICIEL in March 2022.

When he made the announcement to the BBC after his final podium in Paris, he was visibly emotional, almost in tears. He explained that the decision had been made before the Games began. "I was very nervous, because I knew it would be my last Olympics," he said. "But when I saw my husband, my children, my family and my friends there with me, I thought: 'You know what? This is exactly why I am here. No matter what happens in the competition, I will still be happy.'"

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In addition to his sporting successes, Tom Daley has become a reference figure in the contemporary social panorama, especially for his civil commitment. The turning point came in 2013 , two years after the death of his father, his first fan, with whom he had shared the Beijing 2008 Olympic adventure, at just 14 years old. At the London 2012 Olympics, thanks to his talent and his presence on the diving boards, he had become a true pop phenomenon (even the writer must confess he had suddenly become passionate about diving).

When a British tabloid tried to deny rumors about his homosexuality, almost as if he wanted to "defend" him from the shame, Daley responded with a YouTube video in which he announced that he was in love with a man. The decade since then has seen great progress in the United Kingdom, such as the approval of same-sex marriage, and Daley has fought personally for LGBT rights. He has denounced the organization of sporting events in countries such as Russia and some Arab states, known for persecuting the LGBT community, and has lent his face to charitable initiatives to support LGBT young people (also thanks to his brand " Made With Love", born from his passion for crochet) . "There was something in me that was never going to be how society wanted me to be," he told the BBC after winning gold at Tokyo 2020. "I hope that any young LGBT people out there understand that, however alone they may feel right now, you are not alone and you can achieve anything."

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