It's exactly a year to go to the Olympics, and Britain's medal hopefuls are gearing up for the toughest 12 months of their lives. Starting with Tom Daley, we catch up with six athletes at training – and find out just how much they're willing to sacrifice to get the gold
“Diving puts a lot of stress on your body – you’re hitting the water at 40mph”: Tom Daley. Photograph: Andy Hall for the Observer
Tom Daley was 14 when he competed in two events in the Beijing Olympics; he then became world champion in the 10m Individual Platform in 2009. Now 17, he is studying for his A-levels in Plymouth and lives with his mother, Debbie, and two younger brothers. His father Rob died of a brain tumour in MayI train six days a week but I am part-time compared to Chinese divers. On Friday I go to school then do two hours training, then back to school, then back to the pool to have physio, back to school again and then back to the pool for three hours. It's a lot of stress on your body – you're jumping off two double-decker buses and half a car and hitting the water at 40mph.
I've got a relatively normal life. I've still got to go to school; I've still got a mum who tells me off if I do something wrong; I've still got two annoying younger brothers. I've had the same friends for ages. It's not been an easy few months because of what happened with Dad, but I am trying to focus all my attention on my diving.
I've gone away to competitions on my own since I was 10 and have had to be mature, but I do have my 17-year-old times. I don't drink, though; I've only ever had one glass of champagne in my life, on my 16th birthday. It was a not-very-nice-tasting drink. So I'm the story teller after parties. My friends say: "Did I really do that?" And I'm like: "Yeah, you did." People should try it: go out and watch your friends get drunk and tell them what happened the next day.
My weakness is ice cream, and I love Fabs. The most important thing for me is to keep my strength-to-height ratio the same. I'm 5ft 9in now, which is tall for a diver – divers are normally 5ft 6in and quite compact and spinny – so I'm hoping I'm not going to grow much more.
I sometimes dream about diving or podiums, and hear the national anthem in random places. But it's never been at the Olympics in my dreams – and I've never found out the result. I'm always left in anticipation.
Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/
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