Diving

Tom Daley is back for his fifth Olympic Games, and so are his knitting needles

The 30-year-old Olympian may be just as famous for his knitting as he is his diving skills.

NBC Universal, Inc.

Tom Daley is back at the Olympics in search of another medal, and he packed his knitting needles again.

The five-time Olympian representing Great Britain was spotted knitting as he cheered on teammates Saturday, the first official day of competition.

Daley, one of Team GB's flag bearers this year, got to work on his latest project while watching women's diving at the Aquatics Centre.

"It wouldn't be an #Olympics without a Tom Daley knitting-in-the-crowd cameo!" the Olympics posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Daley knows the world is watching more than his diving. He reshared the Olympics side-by-side photo of him knitting to his Instagram story with the caption "comment section is wild, but i be knitting."

The Brit's story is all too familiar. During the coronavirus pandemic he took up knitting after watching online tutorials. He spent lockdown building up his skills and gained attention during the last summer games when he whipped out his needles during preliminaries.

“If you stay all the way up here with your energy levels and thinking about the dives," he said during the Tokyo Olympics, "it ends up becoming quite draining by the end of it.”

Tom Daley Knitting
Clive Rose/Getty Images
Tom Daley of Great Britain knits as he watches the Women's 3m Springboard Final on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Aug. 1, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Thomas Daley of Team Great Britain is seen knitting before the Men's 10m Platform Final on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Clive Rose/Getty Images
Thomas Daley of Team Great Britain is seen knitting before the Men's 10m Platform Final on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on August 07, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

The Olympian is in Paris in search of another gold. He earned his career first with partner Matty Lee in the 10m synchronized diving. His gold medal isn't alone -- he's previously won three bronze medals across the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Games.

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics

Watch all the action from the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games live on Peacock

How Kate Brim went from the hospital to the top of a Paralympic podium in six weeks

Gallery: Top moments from the Paris Paralympics

Daley competes Monday in the same event with Noah Williams.

Copyright NBC New York
Contact Us