Diving From school bullying to Olympic gold Daley sees teen idol pressure in new light

NEW YORK - Meteoric early fame took a toll on British diving great Tom Daley, the retired former Olympic champion told Reuters, reflecting on the intense pressure of his early days as a teen idol with more sympathy for himself now he is a parent.

The 31-year-old Daley retired from competitive sport last year after collecting silver - his fifth Olympic medal - in the 10-metre synchro in Paris, having spent more than half his life in the public eye.

A documentary 1.6 Seconds, released this week on streaming service HBO Max, chronicles Daleys breathtaking rise to fame as a 14-year-old Olympian through his difficult days of childhood bullying and his fathers death when the diver was a teenager.

I would look back at that and I feel sorry for the young Tom a little bit, just to be like, Oh my gosh, someone just tell him to stop and have some time to himself to kind of grieve and figure out whats what said Daley.

He picked up his first medal, a bronze in the 10m platform, in London in 2012, and claimed third place on the podium again in the synchro in Rio four years later before his breakthrough gold in Tokyo in the 10m synchro.

That was particularly intense, talking about my school experience and bullying and then just seeing the down off from Rio going up into then Tokyo, said Daley.

Seeing the pressure that I put myself under as a young kid and especially now as a parent looking back at that ... its a lot to look back at.

Daley, whose popularity rose even more after he came out as gay in 2013, has long preached in favour of inclusivity in sport and fears that the current momentum against transgender Olympic participation could hurt