TOM DALEY settled for silver as China’s dive kings proved a force too far.
Britain’s greatest diver and his 10m synchro partner Noah Williams knew they were going to have to do something special to prevent three-time world champions Lian Junjie and Yang Hao reclaiming the crown Daley and Matty Lee had taken in Tokyo.
And despite a performance 41 points better than in taking world silver behind the Chinese in Doha in February, the Brit duo had to settle for second best again.
Daley and Lee were superb throughout, never faltering as they scored 463.44.
But Lian and Hao recorded the best dive in EVERY round, with six brilliant routines to record a stunning 490.35 and with Canada’s Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray third.
It still represented a remarkable comeback for Daley, who thought he had walked away from the sport after Tokyo.
He only confirmed his intention to return earlier this year, having been persuaded to change his mind by son Robbie.
Daley becomes a FIVE-TIME Olympic medallist having won gold in Tokyo in 2021 in the 10m synchro with Matty Lee as well as bronze medal in the 10m platform.
That followed from bronze at London 2012 in the individual discipline and another in the synchro with Dan Goodfellow at Rio 2016.
He was cheered on by his American movie producer husband Dustin Lance Black and their two sons, Robbie and Phoenix Rose.
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Daley said: “It’s just so special. I mean, this time last year, deciding to come back not knowing if I would make the synchro team let alone a qualifying spot for the Olympics now to be here in Paris diving in front of my son who’s right there and actually asked me to come back, it’s just so special.
“And now it completes the set, I now have one in every colour!”
Daley has spent his spare time in Paris with his knitting needles, knowing that he and Williams could not afford to drop a single stitch if they were to win.
The reality, though, was that the Chinese could only lose the gold, rather than the Brits winning it.
This time, unlike in Tokyo, there were no Chinese mistakes.
Silver it is for Daley, who now has a full house of Olympic medals after his Tokyo golds and bronzes from Japan, Rio and London.
The group of medallists all posed for a selfie on the podium as Daley blew a kiss to his proud family in the stands.
