Britain's Tom Daley won the gold medal alongside countryman Matty Lee in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform event at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Tuesday, July 27. The British duo outperformed the Chinese pair of Yuan Cao and Aisen Chen, who were favourites for the gold medal in the event. This victory was memorable, as would be the same for other athletes. But for Daley, it came after a 13-long year wait for winning the top prize in the biggest sporting event this year. Daley, who is also a gay athlete, was overwhelmed with emotions after the win and after being unable to put a restraint on his feelings, he said, "It’s unbelievable, especially after Rio 2016, when I was extremely disappointed because I thought that’d be my best chance of a medal. But my husband said my story doesn’t end there — he said our son was going to watch me become an Olympic champion."Mirabai Chanu Reaches Imphal After Winning Silver Medal at Tokyo Olympics 2020, Receives Warm Welcome From Fans (Watch Video)

He added, "I feel incredibly proud to say that I’m a gay man and also an Olympic champion. I feel very empowered by that.” Great Britain won the gold in the event with a total of 471.81 points with China following with a silver medal, having secured 470.58 points.

This gold medal win came after two successive bronze medals at the London and Rio Olympics and Daley, who was taking part in this competition for the fourth time, also stated that it was a response to critics, who had kept him out of contention for a medal.  "To finally have this gold medal — I've been diving for 20 years. It's my fourth Olympic Games...Lots of people would have counted me out, being the older person, but I'm in the best shape, physically."

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 27, 2021 04:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).