When Tom Daley took to the diving board at London 2012, it was more than just the culmination of years of hard work. It was a moment he had dreamed of since he was nine years old. The handsome athlete – who picked up a bronze – revealed drawings he had done in a diary of himself competing, written under the headings 'My ambition' and 'my Olympic medals'.
He said of the Twitter pic: "It was in a diary I had when I was nine. London was a candidate city and it hadn't even been decided yet. "I drew a picture of myself in a handstand with the Olympic rings either side." The 18-year-old's dream came true on Saturday when he came third in the diving. His final dive had the crowd – which included David Beckham – on their feet. It earned him 90.75 points and put him in the lead, though he was edged into third by the final efforts from David Boudia, from the US, and Bo Qiu, of China.
The ecstatic sportsman was over the moon with the bronze, waving to his family and supporters before jumping in the pool with his team mates to celebrate. Tom, who lost his dad to cancer last year said: "I am really so happy right now because of all the hard work I have put in in the past 18 months after losing my dad. "It is about time my family had good news and now we have something to show for all the hard work. Although it is a bronze medal, to me it is a gold medal. Congratulations came flooding in over Twitter, including a message from Cheryl Cole.
"You did us all proud," said the pop star. "Now you should have time to teach me that dive!" Tom is now looking forward to Rio de Janerio in four years time, where he hopes to take gold. But for now, he says, it's back to normal. "I've got my Spanish A-Level results on Thursday and then I'm back to school in September, so it's kind of just back to reality really."