Tom Daley Scores Fifth Olympic Medal with Noah Williams

Matthew Henry

BBC Sport Journalist in Paris

Tom Daley snagged his fifth Olympic medal with a stellar silver performance alongside Noah Williams in the men’s synchronised 10m platform event in Paris. Although Daley, 30, had seemingly retired after his gold win in Tokyo, he and 24-year-old Williams looked cool and collected as they returned to the spotlight.

The British duo put pressure on China’s Lian Junjie and Yang Hao, who were exceptional and took gold after winning three consecutive world titles. Despite the fierce competition, Daley and Williams secured silver with six impressive dives.

Daley had been out of the game for two years but decided to make a comeback after his six-year-old son, Robbie, expressed a wish to see his ‘Papa’ dive at the Olympics. Daley’s husband, Dustin Lance Black, Robbie, their younger son Phoenix, and a host of friends and family cheered them on at the Paris Aquatics Centre.

“It’s incredibly special,” Daley said. “To do it in front of my son, who wanted me to come back, is just amazing. Now I have one of every colour—I’ve completed the set.”

Robbie and Phoenix wore t-shirts that read ‘That’s my Papa,’ and Daley’s first sign of emotion came when he blew a kiss to his family from the medal podium. For Williams, who first watched Daley compete in the 2008 Olympics when he was 14, this was his first Olympic medal.

“Tom was amazing out there,” Williams said. “The way he dove, combined with China’s performance, really pushed me to elevate my own diving.”

Team GB now has five medals in Paris—three silvers and two bronzes.

Looking back, Daley mentioned that he already felt he’d achieved his gold medal. Just being able to compete again, with his family there to support him—unlike during the COVID-affected 2021 Games—was enough for him. But he leaves the Games, possibly for good, with a silver to add to his gold and three bronze medals.

This silver medal, like all the medals from these Games, features a piece of the Eiffel Tower in its centre—something Robbie wrote about at school. “He’s six, and I hope he’ll remember this moment,” Daley said. “He’ll be able to touch a piece of the Eiffel Tower.”

Daley and Williams were nearly flawless, only beaten by a pair who delivered one of the best performances of the Games. They were tied with Canada’s Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray after the first two dives but pulled ahead with their third. The crowd erupted when they scored 93.96 on their fourth dive, but hopes for gold faded as China scored 95.88 on their next attempt.

Despite the intense competition, Daley and Williams ended with a solid score of 93.24, with China taking gold with 490.35 and Canada earning bronze with 422.13. Williams was emotional afterward, paying tribute to his late former coach, who passed away after Tokyo.

Daley’s comeback began in December of last year, and he and Williams trained together for just two months, due to Daley’s base in Los Angeles. They managed to finish the Olympic final with a total score of 463.44.