Tom Daley. (Alex Pantling/Getty)
Tom Daley has admitted that diving is no longer the most important thing in his life as he prepares to compete in the Olympic Games.
Before arriving in Tokyo for the delayed 2020 Games, Daley, 27, told The Daily Mirror how he’s gone from being the youngest Team GB diver to the oldest.
“I used to define myself by diving,” he said. “If I dived well it reflected on me as a person.
“Now I’m first and foremost a father and husband.”
Daley discussed how he balances raising his two-year-old son Robbie and his career as a professional diver, specialising in the 10-metre platform.
“It’s got to a point where I’m, I don’t want to say Zen about it, but I no longer define myself by my performance,” Daley continued.
“My first Olympics in 2008 I was young, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, it was all about the experience.
“In 2012 there was that feeling of home crowd advantage and pressure. Going into 2016 I felt at my peak and I put the pressure on myself. That was an intense Olympics for me.”
This sense of being “under pressure” can be difficult at times, he admitted. “Diving is extremely important to me,” Daley said.
“But I have other important things in my life, mainly being my son.
“The thought that he is going to be able to watch me compete, even if it is on TV, excites me.”
Tom Daley and husband thinking about more children
Tom Daley and his husband Dustin Lance Black welcomed their son in 2018, born in the US via a surrogate.
“The most magical moment of my life,” Daley wrote on Instagram at the time.
“The amount of love and joy you have brought into our life is immeasurable. Our precious son.”
Daley, who earlier this year took home both a gold and silver medal in the European Aquatics Championships, recently said that he and Black have considered growing their family.
“We’ve always said we want a big family,” he told Attitude. “Definitely after the Olympics at some point, I’m sure we will.
“There aren’t any plans to yet, but we’d love to make our family bigger, of course.”