Joey Barton maskes a good point there on Twitter - in between studying for and completing his A-levels, Tom Daley has had to help nurse his father through cancer before eventually burying him, while simultaneously trying to fit in enough training to secure a podium position at his home Olympics. Tom Daley is 18 years old. The boy has balls of steel.
London 2012 - Aquatics Centre
- Thread starter Nick 0208 Ldn
- Start date
Yeah, it's very obvious. He's not even among the top 30 most successful British athletes at these Games, yet he's probably had, and will continue to have, as much media coverage as the likes of Farah and Wiggins.
He's an admirable young kid who I personally have a lot of respect for but if he looked like Luke Chadwick he would have been treated like Robbie Grabarz.
Or the bald dude he did the synchro dive with.
He does have a reputation and backstory which stand apart from the Olympics, as well as a media machine both of his own making and externally with saw him being one of the faces of 2012 beforehand.
I'm glad he has got a medal after the loss of his father and with all the pressure and such. However there are other bronze medals i'll remember from the games more than this: Alan Campbell, Laura Bechtolsheimer and GB women's hockey to name but three.
Diving's not something i'm drawn to mind.
I have a problem with how your media portrays it's athletes.
Does any other country do it differently?
They don't do as blatently, or with the same amount of smug wankery.
So you watch the TV broadcasts of all 203 nations? Impressive.
I think Lynk and FT are a bit wide if the mark.
Saying that the celebrations are ott is wrong imo, even without going into the whole if you're not first you're nothing debate etc, simply because of the weight of expectation that has been placed upon him.
In Beijing he became pretty much a household name by competing in the Olympics when he was 14, then going on to become World Champion against the odds when he was 15(!) From that point onwards any time he was mentioned, London 2012 was mentioned in the same breath.
I understand the point about him being photogenic, and its probably true that he wouldn't be as famous if he was ugly as sin, but the fact that he has been talked about and pictured in the newspapers for the last couple of years has been a hindrance more than anything. Maybe not financially, but on his chances in these Olympics. I mean you just had to look at the Opening Ceremony; I lost count the amount of times the camera cut to him, despite there being far more assured medal chances. It's not his fault he's a good looking kid!
In short, the celebrations are justified because even though it's "just a bronze", he's been working for this for four years, enduring immense pressure, none of which he asked for, and that's without mentioning the personal problems he's reported to have endured.
Ok, that might count as mentioning them...the point is I'm pleased for him, and I don't even consider myself British!
Saying that the celebrations are ott is wrong imo, even without going into the whole if you're not first you're nothing debate etc, simply because of the weight of expectation that has been placed upon him.
In Beijing he became pretty much a household name by competing in the Olympics when he was 14, then going on to become World Champion against the odds when he was 15(!) From that point onwards any time he was mentioned, London 2012 was mentioned in the same breath.
I understand the point about him being photogenic, and its probably true that he wouldn't be as famous if he was ugly as sin, but the fact that he has been talked about and pictured in the newspapers for the last couple of years has been a hindrance more than anything. Maybe not financially, but on his chances in these Olympics. I mean you just had to look at the Opening Ceremony; I lost count the amount of times the camera cut to him, despite there being far more assured medal chances. It's not his fault he's a good looking kid!
In short, the celebrations are justified because even though it's "just a bronze", he's been working for this for four years, enduring immense pressure, none of which he asked for, and that's without mentioning the personal problems he's reported to have endured.
Ok, that might count as mentioning them...the point is I'm pleased for him, and I don't even consider myself British!
I remember back in '08, even the Chinese were very impressed with the 14 year old Daley. They have a lot of respect for young talent, such as the gold medal winning US womens gymnastics team this year. I think he's pretty special in that aspect, and the way he handled the pressure to secure bronze against such elite competition.
I think you're probably in the minority with that. I don't even know what event that girl Laura competed in if I'm honest.
He's grown up in front of the cameras, he's good looking, he's always out there with a very small swimsuit and he's well in tune with the modern media, including social media. So it's no surprise he gets so much coverage. But he backs it up. European champions at 13, Olympic finalist at 14, World champion at 15 and now an Olympic Bronze Medallist as the youngest in the final yesterday), in a very competitive field. Well done to him. He's well earned it.