- 21 Aug 08, 09:03 AM
The standard of diving at these Olympics has been absolutely mind-blowing - and I can't wait to see what the men's individual 10m platform has got in store when it starts on Friday.
Tom Daley will be in action again for Great Britain and I can tell you he's in good shape and diving well in training.
We didn't plan it, but I've actually seen him every day, either at the Water Cube - where he's been taking in the swimming competition - at the Village or at the team lodge, which is where athletes can meet up with friends and family.
Obviously, there was a bit of a furore about Blake Aldridge's comments about Tom after their disappointing performance in the synchro final last week. I know, because my phone was ringing off the hook!
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But I saw them both on the evening after the final and Tom was absolutely fine about it. It just seemed to bounce off him.
Tom and Blake aren't sharing rooms anymore - but not because they've fallen out or anything. The people who are still competing are now sharing rooms and the rest, like Blake, well, they're just out here enjoying themselves.
Their partnership will be assessed - just like all of them - when they come back from Beijing, but I would imagine they'll continue and see how it goes. You always have constant reviews: you've got to be on top of your game and injury-free so you can't look too far into the future.
But the synchro has been 'parked' for the time being and it's all about looking ahead to the individual.
Tom's had some time to relax since last week. He's had his family around, which as you can imagine is important for a 14-year-old.
And on Thursday, a group of us went up to the Great Wall. We took a cable car up, walked a long for a mile or so and then we got a toboggan down. Brilliant.
But now it's down to business for Tom. As he was before his first event, he's very excited. But on the day of the synchro, he was also very nervous.
But now that he's got his Olympic experience, it's all about enjoying his diving and expressing himself. That's what I've been talking to him about.
The final is what he's aiming for and if he does that, it would be a phenomenal achievement. It took me three Olympic Games just to make a final so for him to do it in his first, it would be just astonishing.
It's going to be tough. You've got the prelims on Friday, then you come back and do the same dives in the semis on Saturday morning and if you make the top 12, you've got about eight hours until the final. To perform at the highest level all the time, it's a killer.
I'm looking forward to watching it unfold and I'll be nervous watching the Brits. If you want a tip, I'd say: Watch Waterfield! My old synchro partner Pete was fifth in Athens and he's hopeful of getting among the medals this time. It would be just amazing to see one of my best friends up there on the podium.
He's got competition though. China have dominated the diving, but this is probably their weakest event. It's all relative though and both their divers will be in contention.
Then you've got Sascha Klein from Germany, who won the World Cup this year, the American David Boudia and Jose Antonio Guerra Oliva from Cuba.
It's a tough one to call, but if it's anything like the standard we've seen so far, it should be a thriller.
PS - I managed to get to the Bird's Nest on Tuesday to see Christine Ohuruogu win gold in the 400m. I was invited to watch it in one of the VIP suites so I did my commentary on the men's 3m springboard final - which was one of the best I have ever seen by the way - then literally ran over to the stadium, bumped into Tony Blair on the way, and just managed to make it in time to see Christine.
The atmosphere was incredible. What a day!
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Comments
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Can anyone tell me why the divers carry a "comfort blanket" up with them to the board, drop it in the water before diving, and then immediately pick it up when they leave the water? They don't seem to do anything with this (like wipe their faces), so what's it all about?
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Ref No2: Nope, your back.
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Agrees with jamminben13
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Good luck to all the divers =]
I hope they sustain the number 3 rank on the medals.
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In response to crowellabill, the cloth divers use is a highly absorbent chamois to help them dry off between dives.
It's better than a towel because after wringing it once, it's dry again.
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I have two questions:
1. What is with the water jets going into the pool from the side? Is it to keep the surface of the water disturbed to make a "softer" landing?
2. Why do the divers ofter jump from the sides of the board rather than in the centre? Is it hit the spot in Q1?
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peas81 - the water jets help the diver differentiate between the surface and the bottom of the pool which, without the jets, are hard to tell apart. in Beijing where the depth is many metres it can be incredibly dangerous if the divers can't tell where they'll hit the water.
not sure why on your second point but could it be that's where they're comfortable if they dive in synchro?
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The comment about where they dive from is usually consistency with synchro. If you usually dive on oneside, why change for a big event? It's all about what you are used too.
Re: the 'comfort blanket' it to make sure you are dry so that when you grab your legs in a tuck or pike you don't slip on wet flesh ( not a good idea from 10 mete!!)
Great coverage Leon, it's a shame about some of the judging!
John
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For Crowellabill: Why do Olympic divers get wet and then mop themselves with a little towel before stepping onto the boards in Beijing?
The reason for the dunk and dry is to be able to hold onto the skin of their legs while spinning at high speeds in the air, according to Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie.
If his legs are too wet, his hands slip off his legs, but it's also hard to get a grip if they're too dry, he says. The goal is to be at just the right state of dampness.
The divers tote their shammies with them up onto the board for a last-minute wipe down.
They then toss it onto the pool deck to retrieve after their dive, but they take a look first so they don't drop it on a fellow diver's head
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For what it's worth I think Aldridge was out of order. Daley had every right to be concerned at his partner allowing himself to get distracted by phone calls during the competition.
Had they been in cntention for a medal but mucked up the last dive after he took the call then everyone would have been on both lads backs about a lack of proffesionalism.
Given the actions of the two, I would favour the lad who gets annoyed at underperforming and complains whena team mate is unprofessional over one who allows himself to get distracted so easily in every case as more likely to be the better competitor.
Given that Aldridge will likely not make 2012 I find it amazing that he has behaved in this manner.
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i guarentee you tom daley will not get anywhere near the medals. he chokes on the big occasion as he showed in the pairs final where he messed up every dive. although it was not a good idea for aldridge to say those things, i agree totally with what he said.
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seanlufc10,
You don't watch much sport then? Possibly just football?
British champion? European champion? At 14!!
Yup, sounds to me like a choker.
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Thank you redordead0!
At the end of the day Daley is a kid (14)...and British and European champion of course. Aldridge on the other hand is supposed to be an adult...but also has proved that he isn't very profesional or much of a sportsman!
I don't profess to know a great deal about diving but having listened to the commentators and the dos and don'ts I think you'll find that the diver that made the biggest splash on most of the dives was infact Aldridge. This aparently is bad.
It sounds to me that you are, in fact taking someone elses words and writing them as your own. How can you make such a comment as "he chokes on the big occasion as he showed in the pairs final where he messed up every dive." based on one event?
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Yer, that Tom, absolute choker!!! He only had to pull out 3 perfect dives after he lost his thrid dive in the Europeans in March to keep him in a chance for 1st place, when, funnily enough, Sacha Klein (the world champion) choked on his last dive handing Tom the victory. Now if you don't call the European's a big stage.... That comment calling Tom a choker is from someone who obviously has known him for a month though the newspapers and media then first saw him dive in the syncrho last week; it's called an off day, not choking! Watch more of the sport before calling a 14 year old brilliant guy a choker!
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I often wondered whatever happened to Willy Wombat and it was a big surprise to hear his voice again as one of your television commentors in the olympic diving competitions.
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haha i only said those things about daley to provoke an angry response and it worked! you guys really shouldn't get this riled up and chill out. to be honest, when i saw him dive last week it was for the first time and i really couldn't care less.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/diving/7577643.stm
"The GB divers came 4th and twelfth respectively"...
Some one mucked that up didn't they? Who came fourth?
The interview with Waterfield and Daley was enlightening as well. Did Daley just say that he likes to zone out between dives or listen to music? Why on earth was he having a go at Blake Aldrige for phoning his old dear between dives then? People deal with stress in different ways.
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seanlufc must have a load of of time on his hands to have fun winding people up about a sport he knows nothing about. What a sad little person he is. On a good note, Tom made the final even though he still hasn't shown everybody what he can really do. If he has a hot final he could well make the top 5 or 6 which would be incredible given his age and the standard of the opposition. Remember also that he is only just 14 - 13 when he won the Euorpean championships. Let's just sit back now and appreciate that we have a true world class athelete on our hands for years to come. Tough luck Peter, I thought this was going to be your year after the prelims.
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Thoroughly enjoyed the 10m platform final today, and not just because I'm an Australian!
Really enjoyed Leon's commentary on the BBC too.
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