Olympic bronze medallist Tom Daley has enjoyed a successful 2014 with medals at the FINA Diving World Series, Commonwealth Games and European Championships after he made the decision to leave home and move to London.
In January 2014, Daley moved to train at the London Aquatics Centre with new coach Jane Figueiredo who introduced a new weights and cardio programme into his training.
His first international competition of the year was the FINA Diving World Series in Beijing where he won bronze in the 10m Platform.
His international season continued and he starred at the London Aquatics Centre for the home leg of the World Series and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He capped his season with silver in the 10m at the European Championships in Berlin.
“It’s been a great 12 months,” Daley said. “The London Aquatics Centre is a great place to train and I feel Jane and I have made real progress this year with my dives.
“The time was right for me to make a change and I’m so happy with how well everything has gone. I’m loving London.
“For most of the season I have been diving alone as the only diver in London but in the new season two new divers have joined me and Jane. Having Emily [Boyd] and Georgia [Ward] to train with has been great.
It definitely brings a new dynamic to training. We have a lot of competitions during the sessions, and being as competitive as I am, that’s an extra drive for me.”
The 2014 season saw Daley compete at eight international competitions and his biggest achievements were winning gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games and following his performance up with silver at the European Championships just a few weeks later.
“For me, being able to retain my 10m Commonwealth Games title was a massive highlight after a long season,” Daley added. “The pool was great and the crowd really got behind all of us. I remember the noise of the crowd once I’d finished my last dive and it was so loud. Having all of my family there was amazing too.
“The event was tough and I had a lot of pressure on me to win. It had been a long season and was tiring but to come away with the gold and win by such a margin was awesome.”
For the first time Daley had the opportunity to compete back at the pool where he stood on the Olympic podium in 2012 and the venue that is now his home for the London leg of the 2014 FINA Diving World Series.
“It was great to be back competing at the Aquatics Centre for the World Series. The home crowd really got behind the British divers and I’m looking forward to competing back here again.
“I won Olympic bronze in this pool so being here every day and then getting to taste a little bit of what the Games were like in competition really drives me on. The Rio Olympics are getting closer and my focus always remains on them.”