Remember the diver who went viral for knitting in the stands during the Tokyo Olympics? For those who don’t know, that viral sensation was Britain’s most decorated diver. The boy has earned 5 Olympic golds throughout his career, the first one coming when he was just 18. So, yes, he has been a young daredevil of sorts. But would you believe it if we told you he was blown away by a major setback just a year before this happened? Yes, at 17, his life had completely changed.

We’re talking about British diver, Tom Daley. He recently had the release of his Discover Plus documentary, 1.6 Seconds, which revealed so many aspects about his life that weren’t known before today. Especially regarding his childhood and his bond with his father. Yes, not many know that Daley’s dad passed away in 2011, when the boy was simply 17 and a whole career ahead of him to build. So, how could he do it without his father?

On June 1, Tom Daley sat down with Metro for a chat, where he revealed that his father, Robert Daley, succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 40. Daley was naturally shaken, as Robert had been a constant guiding light for him in his early diving career. Will you believe, Robert made sure to show up for Tom’s competitions even when he was getting his brain tumor removed! Yes, he once pushed his brain surgery back by two weeks to attend Tom’s diving tournament!

Thus, when Robert passed, a young Tom took to social media and posted, “If I could be half the dad that my Dad was to me, then that would be my best achievement! I love you.” Picking himself back up from there and rebuilding wasn’t easy. But Tom had to do it. He’d been saying it since 9 or 10 that he wanted an Olympic medal. And next year, it was time to prove that.

Before all this, Tom Daley had already been to the Olympics once before. His first run was at the Beijing 2008 Games, where he finished 7th in the platform and eighth in the synchronized platform events. But alas, he didn’t medal. And so, when he went back in 2012, he had to make it work.

Tom Daley’s father could not see his first Olympic medal

The London 2012 Olympics were on when Tom Daley entered the Aquatics Centre in Startford’s Olympic Park. He ended up fourth in the 10m synchronized swimming event. But in the men’s 10m platform, he ended up winning bronze while 16 million viewers watched him live on the Olympics broadcast. But his father wasn’t one of them.

Thus, Daley always wished, “I hope he never regretted spending that time with me, traveling the world and getting to see those competitions.” He even added, ” I so wish that he got to see me win an Olympic medal.” However, Tom Daley also felt since some of his dad’s ashes were buried near the Aquatics Centre, “He got the best seat in the house” to watch his win.

In all, winning 5 Olympic medals and multiple World and European championships medals would have required such grit. No wonder Tom Daley agrees that he had to sacrifice a lot as a child. But today, all that has paid off as he has been recognized as Britain’s most decorated diver. What do you think of his life story?