Leon Taylor Predicts 2012 Olympic Success for Daley

British Diving was experiencing an all-time low until Leon Taylor won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004 in the synchronised event, alongside partner Peter Waterfield.

You have to go back 44 years prior to that for Britain’s last diving medal at the world’s greatest sporting spectacular, when Brian Phelps secured Britain’s first ever diving medal in 1960.

Unfortunately, due to a number of injuries sustained doing the sport he loved, Taylor had to retire a few months ahead of the 2008 Games in Beijing. The body may not have been able to cope anymore, but the mind was still in full flow and he began to mentor young divers including a certain Tom Daley.

“Diving in particular is so hard on the body,” Taylor explained. “During my career I ended up having four lots of reconstructive surgery on the same shoulder. I have also worn out disk in my lower back and I had hernia surgery at the beginning of 2008.

“The mind was willing but the body could no longer handle the strains of the sport. You hit the water from the 10-metre board at nearly 40mph and I was training for six or seven hours a day at a sport that is very unforgiving.

“Since retiring from the sport, I’ve not got away from diving and still went to Beijing as a commentator for the BBC while I’m also a mentor for Tom Daley.

“Tom is an absolute joy to work with. I met him in 2004, a few months after I had won my Olympic medal, and I was able to share my experience with him.

“Then, when I saw Tom dive for the first time, it made me think ‘wouldn’t it be great if I could get what’s in my head from 18 years of competing in the sport into his head. How good could he be then?’ The rest, as they say, is history.”

That history for Daley includes winning gold medals at the European Championships, World Championships and Commonwealth Games. However, Taylor doesn’t feel it will be long before the 17 year-old adds an Olympic medal to that haul along with his former partner Waterfield.

“To win an Olympic medal is any sportsperson’s dream and I’m sure Tom is no different,” Taylor continued. “He’ll be doing everything he can for every single hour of every single day in order to work towards that success.

“Tom is now diving in the synchronised event with my close friend and fellow Olympic medallist Pete Waterfield, so I’m commentating on two of my dearest friends diving together in my event at the Olympics in London. I’d rather be diving but that’s a pretty good second best.

“It would be great if the pair could win a medal with the dive I made famous – 'the worlds most difficult dive,' – which is a backward two-and-a-half somersaults, with two-and-a-half twists, in the pike position.”

As well as poster boy Daley, then, are there any other young divers we should be looking out for during the London 2012 games next summer?

“Jack Laugher is one year younger than Tom and he specialises in the springboard event – he is a good prospect for the future and you could expect him to come close to winning a medal next year, too.”

Leon Taylor is a BT Ambassador. Leon will be telling his London 2012 story through the BT Storytellers campaign at www.bt.com/London2012

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