Tom Daley makes knitted pouch to keep Olympic gold medal safe

The diving champion claimed his first Olympic title on Monday with diving partner Matty Lee

Olympic diving champion Tom Daley proved he is a man of many talents by knitting a pouch to keep his gold medal safe.

The 27-year-old claimed his first Olympic title on Monday as he and diving partner Matty Lee won the men’s synchronised 10-metre platform event.

Daley has a longstanding love of knitting and crocheting, and shows off his creations on a dedicated Instagram page with 100,000 followers. And he put those skills to good use to make sure his first Olympic gold medal remained in pristine condition.

He said on his Instagram Story: “If you’ve been following me for a while now you’ll know that I’m a little bit knitting obsessed.

“And I kept on banging my medal, so what I decided to do was make a little case for my medal. One side is the Union Jack the other side is the Japanese flag – because now my medal is not going to get scratched.”

He told PA earlier this year that knitting helped him “as a way of switching off and focusing on one thing.” He added: “[Knitting] was a way of me being able to slow down in the evenings. There’s something really rewarding about being mindful and present, but then also creating a piece of clothing that you can give to someone as a gift.

Daley made his Olympic debut in Beijing in 2008 and went on to win bronze medals in both the London and Rio Games. He will also compete in the individual 10m platform competition in Tokyo later this week.