"Why Can't I Look Like That Again?": Tom Daley Opens Up About His Struggle With Body Image
Tom Daley is opening up about his struggle with body image now that he's retired from diving.
In a profile with The Times, the five-time Olympic medalist opened up about his concerns over his body image and how it affected him throughout his career, before and after retirement.
Tom had been a diver since he was seven years old, and he had dived in his first Olympics at 14 in 2008 as Britain's youngest competitor.
In his career, he's won five Olympic medals, including gold, in Tokyo in 2021.
Related: 24 Strange, Gross, And Totally Surprising Facts About Red Carpet Outfits
In 2024, he announced his retirement after winning the silver at the Paris Olympics in the 10m men's synchronized dive with Noah Williams.
After his photo shoot with The Times for the profile, Tom admitted, "I struggled over there."
@tomdaley / instagram.com
Related: Sophie Turner Opened Up About Her "Incredibly Sad" Split From Joe Jonas
"I've always had such horrible body issues going through my diving career. Now I'm not an athlete that trains six hours a day, I especially hate it."
Despite the public's perception, Tom was honest about how watching old videos made him feel about his body. "I know if I'm rational about it, I should be completely happy, but seeing videos of what I looked like in the Olympics, I'm, like, why can't I look like that again?"
Since retirement, Tom has lived in West Hollywood with his partner, Dustin Lance Black, and their two children.
"It feels as though that part of me that was a diver is dead," Tom continued.
View this photo on Instagram
"When I watch competitions [on TV] it's as if I'm a spirit looking in from above, thinking, 'If I was in that, I would have done this.' It's really hard. You've got to be in it to win it. But when you're sitting on the sidelines it's like you've been benched for eternity."
Being a champion Olympic athlete, especially after coming out in 2013, put him in the spotlight. "Growing up in the initial ages of social media and gay culture, being held to such a high standard, it's really difficult," Tom said. "Now I need to just have a healthy relationship with my body."
You can read the entire interview here.
The National Eating Disorders Association helpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text 'NEDA' to 741741.
Also in Celebrity: "I Can't Emphasize Enough How Filthy Some Of These People Are": 39 Hollywood Secrets People Have Learned From Working With Celebs
Also in Celebrity: If You Think You're Smarter Than The Average Celebrity, Prove It By Correctly Answering These Questions They Got Wrong On "Jeopardy"
Also in Celebrity: 12 Celebs Who Came Out At A Young Age, And 13 Who Came Out Way Later In Life
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
9 minutes ago
- CBS News
Olympic gold medalist ski jumpers on Norway team charged in equipment cheating scandal caught on video
Two Olympic gold medalist ski jumpers and three staffers on the powerful Norway men's team were charged with ethics violations Monday after an investigation into alleged tampering with ski suits at the world championships. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said star ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, two coaches and a member of the service staff were formally charged as part of an investigation into "equipment manipulation" at the Nordic worlds Norway hosted in March. The five were all provisionally suspended in March pending an investigation, the BBC reported at the time. Illegally modified suits can help athletes fly further with more aerodynamic resistance. The allegations - backed by video footage and quick confessions by team officials - shook the tight-knit communities of ski jumping and Norwegian sports when they emerged on the final weekend in Trondheim. No timetable was given for hearings or verdicts in a case that intensifies less than six months before the next Winter Olympics open in northern Italy. Bans, fines and disqualification of results are on the slate of punishments open to the FIS Ethics Committee, the governing body said in a statement. Lindvik's gold medal in the men's normal hill event at the worlds held in Trondheim, plus Norway's bronze in the men's team event on the large hill are clearly at risk. FIS said the investigation conducted 38 witness interviews and examined 88 pieces of evidence, and that no one else will be charged in the case. Lindvik and Forfang, who both were in the team that took bronze, denied involvement in March though were disqualified from the individual large hill event and suspended by FIS for the rest of the season. Their charges were signed off by the FIS ruling council, the governing body said. The 27-year-old Lindvik has been expected to defend his Olympic title next year in the men's large hill event at the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Games. Forfang, now 30, took team gold on the large hill and individual silver on the normal hill at the 2018 Olympics held in South Korea. Admissions of guilt were made in March by head coach Magnus Brevik and equipment manager Adrian Livelten, who said suits were altered only before the men's large hill event. "We regret it like dogs, and I'm terribly sorry that this happened," Brevik said at the time. A third team staffer, Thomas Lobben, also is now charged. Speaking at the time the allegations emerged, FIS general manager Jan-Erik Aalbu said the team had "tried to cheat the system" by putting reinforced thread in the jumpsuits of Lindvik and Forfang, the BBC reported. The manipulation was to increase the size of suits pre-approved and microchipped by FIS, and was captured on secretly filmed footage. It led to formal protests from the Austria, Slovenia and Poland teams. The alterations could be confirmed only by tearing apart the seams of the crotch area on the Norwegian ski suits. FIS said that its investigators looked at five key issues, whether: "coaches Magnus Brevig and Thomas Lobben and suit technician acted in violation of the rules in orchestrating the equipment manipulation; athletes Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang knowingly acted in contravention of relevant FIS rules; the conspiracy spread further in the team, either to other athletes or other staff members of the Norwegian NSA; the Norwegian team had engaged in the same or similar equipment violations in the past; and/or the conspiracy spread to other teams. The case will be judged by three members of the ethics panel which must reach verdicts "no later than 30 days after the hearing process is concluded," FIS said. FIS has already tightened up its rules on ski jump suits, something which caused a spate of disqualifications when athletes gathered for the first competition of the new season Saturday. FIS said that was down to technical issues and it didn't suspect "ill intent."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Contributor: Stop trash-talking the LA28 Games
The premise that Los Angeles should withdraw from hosting of the 2028 Olympics needs a counterpoint. Here it is: bad idea. At least some of the negativity stems from an appearance by LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman with Donald Trump in Washington last week. Wasserman made nice and got pilloried as a 'suck-up' and a 'kiss-ass.' Wasserman is neither a kiss-ass, nor a suck-up. Nor should Los Angeles pull out of the Games. Read more: Trump names himself chair of L.A. Olympics task force, sees role for military during Games Wasserman did what he had to do in the meeting with the president, which is rise above all the political stink that surrounds everything these days. His mandate was obvious. He had to get through the ceremony, smile a lot and never lose his cool. Do it for the good of the city he has lived in all his life and contributed to heavily in so many ways. Rise above all the pettiness and foolishness that surrounded him. Do it for the greater good, which will be a third successful Olympics for a city that has established its unique ability to do this very difficult thing very well. Wasserman completes a trio of Los Angeles Olympic executives who are legendary, and deserve to be. Read more: Arellano: L.A. never needed the Olympics. With Trump wanting in, it's time to pull out William May Garland traveled to Amsterdam for its Olympics in 1928. In other Olympic meetings prior to that, he asked officials what it would take to get the Games to his city. Their response was 'where is Los Angeles?' Four years later, with a sparkling new Memorial Coliseum, a first-ever Olympic Village for the athletes and a superstar named Babe Didrikson Zaharias winning two gold medals, the world knew where Los Angeles was. Peter Ueberroth was a little-known travel executive who took over the 1984 Olympic effort and did so with the free world in turmoil over the Soviet Bloc. Ueberroth knew what he was facing: traffic nightmares, cost overruns, lifestyle disruptions in a city that abhors such things. Also, high-stakes international turmoil. The Soviets would likely boycott, answering President Carter's mandated boycott of Moscow's 1980 Games, and they did. By then, Ueberroth had sent emissaries to all the Soviet Bloc countries and several of those countries came to L.A., despite the Soviet Union's orders. In all, Ueberroth delivered. Read more: L.A. city leaders are in high-stakes negotiations on Olympics costs Los Angeles had been the only bidder for the 1932 Games, with the world on the brink of war. In '84, the L.A. committee, led by businessman John Argue, that won the bid went all in as most of the rest of the world shivered under the threat of Soviet aggression. That time, Los Angeles had one competitor: Tehran. When Garland's Olympics ended, it had produced a profit of $1 million. That translates to more than $20 million in today's money. When Ueberroth and his team were finished in 1984, the profit was slightly north of $250 million. Much of that still circulates in Los Angeles through the LA84 Foundation, headquartered on Adams Avenue, which invests and distributes annually to hundreds of local charities, mostly children's, and many sports groups. Simply put, that history, those local glories of 1932 and 1984, are too precious, too meaningful, to walk away from over dislike of Donald Trump, political fears or even naysayers' money fears. When the 1984 Games worked, spinning off into two weeks of joy, celebration, achievement and emotional wonder, it was all about the athletes. Every Olympics is. What they do and how they do it understandably push politics, international bickering and egotistical showmanship and fundraising to the background. Read more: Former Disney boss to run L.A. 2028 Olympics ceremonies Wasserman smiling with Trump does not equate to CBS' caving with a $16-million payout to Trump over a perfectly legitimate '60 Minutes' interview. Not even close. Nor is he inviting Trump to light the torch in the opening ceremonies, although this very mention might be dangerous. Casey Wasserman understands what he has undertaken and how difficult it is, and will continue to be, for three more years. Yucking it up right now with the president is survival, a purchase of time to organize and progress. Not surrender. For a while, Angelenos need to put away their knee-jerk Olympic prognostications. There may come a time for doom and gloom, but not now. Bill Dwyre was sports editor of The Times for 25 years and a sports columnist for nine more before retiring in 2015. He organized The Times coverage of the '84 Olympics and was named National Editor of the Year in 1985 by the National Press Foundation for that coverage. If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Ski jumping's suit-cheating saga rolls on as 5 Norwegians are charged over ‘manipulation'
Two Olympic gold medalist ski jumpers and three staffers on the powerful Norway men's team were charged with ethics violations Monday after an investigation into alleged tampering with ski suits at the world championships. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said star ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, two coaches and a member of the service staff were formally charged as part of an investigation into 'equipment manipulation' at the Nordic worlds Norway hosted in March. Illegally modified suits can help athletes fly further with more aerodynamic resistance. The allegations – backed by video footage and quick confessions by team officials – shook the tight-knit communities of ski jumping and Norwegian sports when they emerged on the final weekend in Trondheim. No timetable was given for hearings or verdicts in a case that intensifies less than six months before the next Winter Olympics open in northern Italy. Bans, fines and disqualification of results are on the slate of punishments open to the FIS Ethics Committee, the governing body said in a statement. Lindvik's gold medal in the men's normal hill event at the worlds held in Trondheim, plus Norway's bronze in the men's team event on the large hill are clearly at risk. FIS said the investigation conducted 38 witness interviews and examined 88 pieces of evidence, and that no one else will be charged in the case. Lindvik and Forfang, who both were in the team that took bronze, denied involvement in March though were disqualified from the individual large hill event and suspended by FIS for the rest of the season. Their charges were signed off by the FIS ruling council, the governing body said. The 27-year-old Lindvik has been expected to defend his Olympic title next year in the men's large hill event at the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Games. Forfang, now 30, took team gold on the large hill and individual silver on the normal hill at the 2018 Olympics held in South Korea. Admissions of guilt were made in March by head coach Magnus Brevik and equipment manager Adrian Livelten, who said suits were altered only before the men's large hill event. 'We regret it like dogs, and I'm terribly sorry that this happened,' Brevik said at the time. A third team staffer, Thomas Lobben, also is now charged. The manipulation was to increase the size of suits pre-approved and microchipped by FIS, and was captured on secretly filmed footage. It led to formal protests from the Austria, Slovenia and Poland teams. The alterations could be confirmed only by tearing apart the seams of the crotch area on the Norwegian ski suits. The case will be judged by three members of the ethics panel which must reach verdicts 'no later than 30 days after the hearing process is concluded,' FIS said. FIS has already tightened up its rules on ski jump suits, something which caused a spate of disqualifications when athletes gathered for the first competition of the new season Saturday. FIS said that was down to technical issues and it didn't suspect 'ill intent.'
