Tom Daley puts the knitting needles down as Olympic hero returns to the diving board

Tom Daley has put the knitting needles down and returned to the diving board for the men’s individual 10metre diving contest.

Daley, 27, fresh from his Olympic triumph in the synchronised event with Matty Lee, has spent a whirlwind few days setting about on his knitting projects – including a Tokyo-themed cardigan – but is back in action for the individual event.

The Team GB star made a shaky start to the preliminary round, causing a big splash with his opening dive to score 52.20, before coming back with a 68.80 on his second round attempt.

18 of the 29 divers will advance to the semi-finals, with Daley one of two British stars competing in Tokyo, alongside Noah Williams.  

Williams, 21, appears in trouble with three mediocre dives out of four, with two dives left to rescue his chances of scraping into the semi finals.

After four rounds, Williams sat in 22nd in the standings, while Daley was placed in 6th position. 

Tom Daley has returned to the diving board to compete in the men’s 10metre platform

The 27-year-old has spent a whirlwind few days knitting following his triumph in the synchro

Daley has made a Team GB, Tokyo-inspired cardigan during his time in the athletes’ village

The Team GB hero was back in action to secure his place into the semi final of the 10m platform

Daley revealed this week that his knitting exploits have kept him ‘sane’ during his time in Japan this summer.

​​’One thing that has kept me sane throughout this whole process is my love for knitting and crochet and all things stitching,’ he said on Instagram.

‘When I got to Tokyo, I wanted to make something that would remind me of the Olympics to look back on in the future,’ Daley said of his cardigan. ‘I designed a pattern for the colour work that would signify everything about these games.’

Daley is raffling his Tokyo-inspired knitwear to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity, with each entry costing £2. The 27-year-old began donating his pieces to the charity last September. 

While flaunting another raffle sweater, he teased ‘I will be raffling off lots of things over the coming months so keep your eyes peeled.’ 

Daley finally ended his gold medal wait last week when he and Olympic debutant Lee clinched gold in a nail-biting final in Tokyo. The British pair saw off Chinese favourites Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen by 471.81 points to 470.58.

‘I still can’t honestly believe what is happening,’ Daley told BBC Sport. ‘That moment, being about to be announced as Olympic champions, I was gone. I was blubbering.’ 

More to follow…