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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
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Kyle O'Sullivan

Teenage Tom Daley was shamefully blamed for Olympics failure in phone row with partner

Tom Daley is Team GB's most decorated diver of all time - but it hasn't always been plain sailing.

The 27-year-old was won a gold and three bronze Olympic medals and 12 World, Commonwealth and European Championship gold medals.

The most recent came at Tokyo 2020 last summer when Tom and diving partner Matty Lee finished top of the leader board in the 10m synchro.

Tom, who is on our screen tonight raising money for this year's Red Nose Day in an extreme challenge, looked destined for greatness during his first ever Olympics in Beijing 2008.

The spotlight was firmly on the 14-year-old prodigy when he became Britain's second youngest male Olympian - but it ended in disaster and a row with diving partner Blake Aldridge.

Tom was left fuming when Blake took a phone call from his mum whole they waited for their last jump, but his partner then turned the tables and shamefully blamed the teenager for their flop performance.

Tom Daley was frustrated during a disappointing Men's Synchronised 10m Platform Final in 2008 (PA)
Tom Daley and his partner Blake Aldridge struggled during the finals (PA)

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The pair looked destined for a glorious career together ahead of the 2008 Games and had an outside chance of getting a medal in China in the 10m synchronised final.

They joint third after the first dive, but they quickly slipped out of contention after a number of botched attempts and ended up finishing in a disappointing eight.

Tensions flared when 26-year-old Blake saw his mum in the crowd and asked her to ring him between the fifth and final dives of the competition.

Speaking to The Daily Mail in 2012, Tom claimed Blake said: "I'm sorry, Mum, I don't know what's happening, and it's not going very well. Tom's being all moody."

When Tom then called him over to tell him to get off his phone, Blake reportedly replied: "Don’t tell me what to do. I can do what I want."

Tom added: "That's when I looked at him and put my earphones back in. I felt really annoyed and thought, 'Just grow up, Blake!'."

The young diver then got a shock when he heard Blake trying to pin the blame on him by claiming he was "over-nervous".

Tom Daley looks in disbelief at partner Blake Aldridge as he talks on his mobile phone to his mother (Daily Mirror)

Blake told reporters: "I knew, going into this Olympic Games, that we were capable of a medal, but I also knew that it depended on how Tom performed.

"I wasn't on the top of my game, but I out-dived Thomas today and that's not something that normally happens. That to me is because he had a lot more pressure on him than I did."

Blake claimed he was not disappointed with his own performance and claimed "nervous" Tom "struggled to get through the competition".

Addressing the tense disagreement they had, Blake continued: "He had a pop at me before the last dive, when we were sitting down.

"I saw my mum in the audience and I asked her to give me a call and Tom went to me, 'Why are you on the phone? We're still in the competition and we've got another dive to do.'

"That's just Thomas - he's over-nervous and that's how it was today. Thomas should not be worrying about what I'm doing, but today he was worrying about everyone and everything and that to me is really the sole reason why he didn't perform today."

Where as Tom was far more magnanimous in defeat and apportioned blame to the pair of them, admitting it was a "bad day".

There was clear tension after they finished last (Daily Mirror)

Games insiders were stunned at Blake's petulant over-reaction and came out in defence of Tom.

Olympic silver medallist Leon Taylor, who was a mentor to the British diving team, said: "In the heat of the moment, people say funny things. Synchronised diving is a partnership. The last thing you need to be doing is apportioning blame."

While team supremo Steve Foley added: "When we looked at it afterwards, Blake realised he would never usually make a phone call in the middle of a competition."

What made it even more awkward is that the pair were sharing a room in Beijing, but they managed to put their differences aside.

Their partnership officially ended the following year was forced to miss the British Championships after suffering facial injuries, which meant they could not qualify for the 2009 World Championships in Rome.

Any animosity between Daley and Aldridge has long since disappeared and the pair still keep in touch.

Their paths then diverged as Blake believed he had "found himself" in the death-defying sport of cliff diving.

The pair have gone separate ways but stayed in touch (Daily Mirror)

He began launching himself from a staggering 27m, which is the height equivalent to an eight-storey building or six double-decker buses, meaning you hit the water at forces divers greater than nine times what divers experience from a 10m platform.

"You're jumping off something you shouldn't jump off and fighting against every instinct in your body that says don't do it," Blake told the BBC, admitting it hurts even when you are perfect.

Back in 2013, the former diving partner even "had a cuddle" when Daley stayed out in Spain after his own event to watch Blake dive from 27m.

"High diving is for crazy people - I literally couldn't even contemplate going up to 27m and going off," confessed Tom at the time.

"Ten metres scares me every time when I go up there anyway so going up onto 27m platform would just be ridiculously scary - but I'm actually staying on in Barcelona to watch so I'm really excited to see it.

"You will never see me up there. I might go and have a look but literally if you land flat on there you die, that's it."

Tom, who was awarded an OBE in 2022 New Year Honours for his work as a human rights activist and an LGBTQ+ campaigner, is back on our screens tonight in a very different challenge.

Tom Daley is cycling, running, swimming and rowing for Red Nose Day (SCU)

In a bid to raise money for Red Nose Day, Tom has been pushing himself to the limit by rowing, swimming, cycling and running 290 miles from the Aquatics Centre in London to his beloved hometown of Plymouth.

Over four days, Tom swam in freezing cold open waters, cycled some of the nation's toughest routes into gusting winds, rowed down the choppy Thames and completed an ultra-marathon as he made his way back home.

The gruelling route took Tom to the very limits of physical endurance as well as some very special places that are close to his heart - and there were some appearances from celeb guests.

When Tom finally reached the finish line he said: "If you can, please donate what you can to Red Nose Day because it would make a world of difference to so many families all across the country.

"To come home and see all my family here, as well as so many people, is pretty special, so thank you.

"I don’t really know what else to say other than I just need to go and sleep for about six years! Thank you all so much and love you.”

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