When Not Winning Olympic Gold, This Is What Diver Tom Daley Does

Tom Daley wears many hats - and some of them he knits on his own. The 27-year-old is one of Britain's most-recognisable athletes, an LGBTQ icon, an Olympic gold medallist and a talented hand at knitting. After winning gold in the synchronised 10m platform diving at the Tokyo Olympics last week, Tom Daley was spotted knitting his way through the women's 3m springboard final on Sunday morning.

Cameras captured the star diver watching the action from the stands while knitting - and pictures of the scene soon went viral on social media. A photo of Tom Daley wielding two knitting needles and purple yarn was shared by the official Olympics Twitter account and has racked up over 1.6 lakh 'likes' in a day.

Oh this? Just Olympic champ @TomDaley1994 knitting in the stands while watching the diving. ???? pic.twitter.com/o17i6vsG2j

— Olympics (@Olympics) August 1, 2021

The Olympics Twitter account also shared another picture of the athlete knitting in the stands this afternoon. This time, Daley was photographed making a Team Great Britain jumper, complete with the instantly-recognisable Olympic rings. 

Urgent update: Knitting action is back underway at the Aquatics Centre. This time it is a @TeamGB jumper! ???????? pic.twitter.com/tJlueScIp1

— Olympics (@Olympics) August 2, 2021

Tom Daley is a not only a talented diver but also a keen knitter and crocheter. His 'madewithlovebytomdaley' Instagram account is dedicated to his creations and it has over 4.2 lakh followers. It was on this account that he shared a glimpse of the little pouch he knit for his Olympic gold medal. 

"Learning to knit and crochet has helped me so much through these Olympics and we won GOLD yesterday," he wrote while sharing the video last week. "I made a little medal case too!" Daley added, holding up the pouch that features the Union Jack on one side and Japan's flag on the other. 

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A post shared by Tom Daley (@madewithlovebytomdaley)

It comes as no surprise that Tom Daley wants to keep his gold medal safe - after all, he waited 13 years for it. Daley, in what could be his final Olympics, wiped away tears on the podium as he finally added gold to the bronzes he won at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games. He began diving at the age of seven and there was a media frenzy around him when he competed at the 2008 Beijing Games as a fresh-faced schoolboy of just 14.

????

Mission accomplished.#TeamGB | @TomDaley1994 pic.twitter.com/ClyyTIm1ZP

— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 26, 2021

For Daley, the gold was reward for a life lived in the public eye since childhood. Today, the athlete has transcended the sport and is a vocal supporter of gay issues. He came out as gay when he was 19 and is now married to the Oscar-winning film-maker Dustin Lance Black.