'He finally got his dream' - Tom Daley 'puts Plymouth on the map' with gold medal win at Tokyo 2020

Matty Lee and Tom Daley are gold medalists. Credit: PA

One of Tom Daley's has described him as an "inspiration" after he won his first Olympic gold medal - and she said he looks "on form" to head home with more medals.

Plymouth's Tom Daley and his team mate Matty Lee won the gold medal in the men’s synchronised 10 metres platform at the Tokyo Olympics.

The British pair defeated the Chinese duo by the most slender of margins, getting just 1.23 points more than the World Champions over the course of six rounds, while the Russian Olympic Committee finished third.

Tom Daley and Matty Lee were consistent thorughout. Credit: PA

Daley, 27, has won gold at the fourth time of asking, having represented Team GB at Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro.

Tonia Couch, former British Olympic diver and friend to Daley told ITV West Country: "I was on the edge of my seat as you can imagine. It was just so fantastic to watch.

"Unfortunately for Tom he's won every single gold medal there is apart from the Olympic Games so today he finally got his dream.

"Plymouth is on the map because of Tom, he's a great person, a great diver, all the kids look up to him so the fact that he did come from Plymouth and that he did do two Olympic Games in Plymouth, it's just inspiring for all the younger generation."

  • 'He finally got his dream' - Tonia Couch on gold medal win

Tonia Couch also told ITV News she is optimistic about Daley's next competition: "He looked on form, he looked on fire, he's totally ready so fingers crossed and I can't wait to watch it."

Daley was left in shock by the success in Japan, he told the BBC: “I mean to finally have this gold medal around my neck after so many – I mean I’ve been diving now for 20 years and this is my fourth Olympic Games and lots of people probably would have counted me out of this Olympics being the older person but I’m in the best shape physically and mentally.

“With the support of Matty coming into this competition and the way that we’ve been preparing, I think we’ve just had that unstoppable mentality this year and this is the first year that I’ve ever been able to think like that – that we are the ones to beat."

Daley and Lee held off competition from the Chinese. Credit: PA

After winning gold Daley said: “You want to win an Olympic gold medal but never think you actually will. I will carry on but I will definitely take a break. There are some beverages with my name on it to celebrate with my husband and family.

“This means an incredible amount. All athletes put in such hard work and dedication into our performances. To be an Olympic champion after four attempts at it feels extremely special.”

  • Daley laments that his father, who died from brain cancer in 2011, never got to see him win an Olympic medal

  • Tom Daley's family react to his win from Canada

After winning his first Olympic gold medal Daley passed on an inspirational message to young LGBT people.

He said: "I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone and that you can achieve anything and there is a whole lot of your chosen family out here ready to support you.

"I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion.

"I feel very empowered by that because when I was younger I thought that I was never going to be anything or achieve anything because of who I was and to be an Olympic champion now shows that you can achieve anything."