Picture of the day – August 22
Daley finished a creditable seventh in the 10m platform event.
British diver Tom Daley was remarkably only a couple of months past his 14th birthday when the Beijing Olympics began.
On this day in 2008, the Plymouth schoolboy was competing in the 10m platform event at the National Aquatics Centre.
He finished a creditable seventh.
Daley, who became Britain’s youngest European gold medallist shortly before his Olympic debut, opened with his most difficult dive, an inward 2.5 somersaults with 1.5 twists and scored an impressive 81.60.
Four more solid dives followed but he slipped to sixth going into the final round and under-rotated his reverse 3.5 somersaults in tuck to score 64.60 and drop a place in the final standings.
“It’s been fantastic and a top-eight finish means more funding, so it’s all gone to plan,” said Daley at the time.
“I’ve gained loads of experience in Beijing – this has been a big bonus going into 2012 as I now know what the Olympics are like.”
He went on to win bronze in the same event in London four years later, before securing another third-placed finish in the synchronized diving 10m platform at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
