Tom Daley knitting again as he watches diving teammates win first Team GB medal

The Olympic diving champion is known for getting his needles and wool out during tense competitions.

Tom Daley knitting as he watches the women’s synchronised 3m springboard final at the Aquatics Centre on the first day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

Tom Daley once again showed off his knitting skills as he watched Team GB wins its first medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics during a women’s diving final.

The champion diver, 30, who is competing at his fifth Games, appeared relaxed in the stands on Saturday morning as he worked on a blue, white and red jumper with his surname emblazoned on the back.

Daley won gold in the men’s 10m synchronised high board event at Tokyo 2020, where he was regularly photographed with needles and wool.

The athlete, who took up knitting during the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 and said he finds it a cathartic distraction between events, has frequently been pictured enjoying his hobby during competitions.

Daley, who published a practical guide to knitting called Made With Love in October 2022, was Team GB’s flagbearer along with rower Helen Glover during the drenched opening ceremony on Friday.

As Team GB took part in the parade of athletes along the River Seine on a boat, he and Glover recreated the famous Titanic film scene where Leonardo DiCaprio holds Kate Winslet on the bow of the doomed ship.

Celine Dion, who sang the theme My Heart Will Go On for the Oscar-winning movie, closed the ceremony with a moving performance from the Eiffel Tower.

Singing Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour, it was the Canadian star’s first live performance since revealing she has the rare neurological condition, stiff person syndrome (SPS), which causes muscle spasms and progressive muscular inflexibility.

Daley, who has two children with Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, wrote on Instagram: “Such an honour to be carrying the flag at the opening ceremony for Team GB with @helenglovergb.

“I made a little heart hand signal for my boys watching on TV! I am so excited to have them here to share this experience with me for my 5th games! Even if it was a little wet.”

Daley will compete in the 10m synchronised diving with Noah Williams on Monday at the Aquatics Centre, where he watched his team mates Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen claim bronze in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard final in dramatic circumstances on Saturday morning.

The pair were in fourth coming into the final round, but a slip on the board during the Australian team’s last dive saw Team GB secure third place behind China’s Yani Chang and Yiwen Chen, who won gold, with Team USA’s Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook claiming silver.