Giovanni Díaz-Infante Posadas, Grade 11
UWC Maastricht
Thomas Robert Daley, born on 21 May 1994 in Plymouth, England, is a diver who specializes in the 10-meter platform famous for being a double World champion. He started diving at the age of 7 at the Plymouth Diving Club, where his talent was quickly identified. In September 2002 he was placed in a competitive squad and shortly after, he began to make a name for himself after winning several competitions at a local and national level; however, it was in 2004, just after his tenth birthday, that he truly made his mark, after becoming the youngest ever under-eighteen Nationals champion. He then began to compete at an international level, and in 2008 he qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games in the individual 10-meter dive competition and the 10-meter platform synchronized diving as, where he made it to the final in both events as Britain’s second youngest ever Olympian. Later victories included, among many, the London 2012 Olympics, where he won the bronze medal for his individual performance, and the Rio 2016 Olympics, where he won another bronze medal in the synchronized 10-meter platform.
Hopefully, this short resume is enough to show you why I was so inspired by Tom Daley when I first heard of him.
At the time, I was twelve years old, and back then, I would have also called myself an athlete; I had been training as a trampoline gymnast since a friend introduced me to the sport a couple of years before. He was really into trampoline gymnastics, and his plans for the future included becoming a professional athlete; however, I had never seen myself following the same path. To me, it was all about the fun, which slowly went away as our coach became more and more demanding. Even though I was making progress, I felt demotivated, and the thought of leaving the team and going back to a ‘simpler’ sport like soccer was more appealing than the three hours of training I had to endure four times a week.
One day while scrolling through my Facebook feed, I saw an article about Tom Daley. I could vaguely remember his name from the London Olympics, but besides that, I knew nothing about him. To be honest, I don’t really know why I decided that his article was worth my time, but something convinced me to read it, and after reading just a few paragraphs, I was really impressed by his story; to me, he seemed an outstanding athlete. Maybe it was the fact that his young age made him relatable, or maybe it was the similarity between our sports, whatever it was, I could not resist looking more into him. I googled him, and I was surprised to see that he had a YouTube channel, so, of course, I subscribed and watched some of his videos. Through his videos, I discovered that he was more than just an athlete; he seemed friendly, approachable, and genuine. He had a life outside of the world of sports; at the end of the day, we were not that different. This realization became a newfound inspiration to keep training and ever since, Tom Daley became the only athlete I have ever cared about or admired.
Eventually, I chose to quit trampoline gymnastics, but my admiration for Tom Daley only kept on growing. I followed his professional career more closely, but I also became interested in his life beyond the pool. Some of the hardships he had had to endure in his life include the death of his father in 2011 and suffering from bullying during his childhood. This only made him admire his strength and resilience even more, and when he started to use his fame as a platform to speak out against bullying (for which he has won the BBC Young Young Sports Personality of the Year accolade three times), he became one of my idols. He showed me that it is possible to pursue one’s passion while working towards making a positive change in your community; moreover, his coming out announcement in 2013 helped me find comfort during a time period in which I strongly questioned my identity.
Before knowing of the existence of Tom Daley, I thought that having an idol was a ridiculous idea, I firmly believed that the only person pushing you to do better should be yourself; nevertheless, and despite us being complete strangers, he became a role model and a guide in aspects of my life that I tried to keep hidden from everyone. I ‘met’ Tom Daley by accident, and he changed my life; today, I tell his story in an attempt to do the same thing for someone else.
Hopefully, this short resume is enough to show you why I was so inspired by Tom Daley when I first heard of him.
At the time, I was twelve years old, and back then, I would have also called myself an athlete; I had been training as a trampoline gymnast since a friend introduced me to the sport a couple of years before. He was really into trampoline gymnastics, and his plans for the future included becoming a professional athlete; however, I had never seen myself following the same path. To me, it was all about the fun, which slowly went away as our coach became more and more demanding. Even though I was making progress, I felt demotivated, and the thought of leaving the team and going back to a ‘simpler’ sport like soccer was more appealing than the three hours of training I had to endure four times a week.
One day while scrolling through my Facebook feed, I saw an article about Tom Daley. I could vaguely remember his name from the London Olympics, but besides that, I knew nothing about him. To be honest, I don’t really know why I decided that his article was worth my time, but something convinced me to read it, and after reading just a few paragraphs, I was really impressed by his story; to me, he seemed an outstanding athlete. Maybe it was the fact that his young age made him relatable, or maybe it was the similarity between our sports, whatever it was, I could not resist looking more into him. I googled him, and I was surprised to see that he had a YouTube channel, so, of course, I subscribed and watched some of his videos. Through his videos, I discovered that he was more than just an athlete; he seemed friendly, approachable, and genuine. He had a life outside of the world of sports; at the end of the day, we were not that different. This realization became a newfound inspiration to keep training and ever since, Tom Daley became the only athlete I have ever cared about or admired.
Eventually, I chose to quit trampoline gymnastics, but my admiration for Tom Daley only kept on growing. I followed his professional career more closely, but I also became interested in his life beyond the pool. Some of the hardships he had had to endure in his life include the death of his father in 2011 and suffering from bullying during his childhood. This only made him admire his strength and resilience even more, and when he started to use his fame as a platform to speak out against bullying (for which he has won the BBC Young Young Sports Personality of the Year accolade three times), he became one of my idols. He showed me that it is possible to pursue one’s passion while working towards making a positive change in your community; moreover, his coming out announcement in 2013 helped me find comfort during a time period in which I strongly questioned my identity.
Before knowing of the existence of Tom Daley, I thought that having an idol was a ridiculous idea, I firmly believed that the only person pushing you to do better should be yourself; nevertheless, and despite us being complete strangers, he became a role model and a guide in aspects of my life that I tried to keep hidden from everyone. I ‘met’ Tom Daley by accident, and he changed my life; today, I tell his story in an attempt to do the same thing for someone else.
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