Britain's golden boy calls it quits

'Bucket list'

Daley's gold in Tokyo came alongside Matty Lee, and he was back to defend his title in Paris after being convinced by his six-year-old son Robbie to return to the sport.

Daley and his dive partner Noah Williams claimed silver in the competition, finishing behind China who completed a historic sweep of all eight Olympic diving gold medals in Paris.

Looking forward to spending more time with his family away from the Olympic spotlight, Daley has no fears he will regret retiring.

"I want to be with my family. I'm really excited to be able to spend some time with them and just be able to feel a bit normal for a couple of days," said Daley, who fulfilled a childhood dream by becoming the first diver to be a British flag bearer in the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris.

"It's always hard when you say goodbye to your sport. There are lots of things to process, but I think it's the right time.

"This year felt like such a bonus, and I got to compete in front of my family, my kids. I got to be flag bearer. So yeah, bucket list ticked off on every occasion."

As well as his Olympic medals, Daley won eight world championship medals, including four golds.

He also took eight European championship medals, including five golds, and won four Commonwealth Games gold medals.

When he wasn't in the pool at the Olympics, Daley was spotted enjoying the Games from the stands while knitting.

With more time on his hands now, Daley plans to focus on his knitting business.

"I'll expand my 'Made With Love' business to get more people into knitting. So watch this space," he said.

AFP