Daley and Williams sublime in Olympic synchro silver display

Tom Daley and Noah Williams’ first international competition together only came as recently as February’s World Championship, where they confirmed Great Britain’s Olympic quota spot with a silver medal in Doha.

Now, sixteen years on from his Olympic debut in Beijing, Daley – who was competing at his fifth Olympic Games – was bidding to defend the Men’s 10m Synchro title he won with Matty Lee back in Tokyo, having previously claimed bronze in the event alongside Daniel Goodfellow at the Rio Games.

Williams alongside him was at his second Olympic Games having garnered experience in the Men’s 10m Platform at Tokyo 2020, and truly held his own in the pairing with Britain’s most decorated Olympic diver.

Opening up the contest with the required dives is all about precision - a test Tom and Noah passed with high synchronicity to hold second place on the leader board through the first two rounds.

That was a position the British pair never deviated from, strengthening their grip on a silver medal with a polished Inward 3½ Somersaults Tuck (407C) ahead of their highest scoring dive of the contest in the fourth round – scoring 93.96 for their Back 3½ Somersaults Pike (207B).

Safely executing their penultimate dive set up a grandstand finish, and under the pressure of the Olympic Aquatics Centre spotlights, Daley and Williams surpassed 90 points with their closing Forward 4½ Somersaults Tuck (109C) effort - taking their total score up to 463.44 points and a guaranteed podium place with two pairs still to dive.

Ultimately it placed them as the closest challengers to champions Lian Junjie and Yang Hao of China, and 40 points clear of ahead of Canadian pair Rylan Wiens and Natha Zsombor-Murray in bronze-medal position.

Having opened the Games as flagbearer for Team GB, Daley spoke on what this latest chapter of his incredible diving career meant to him.

“It’s just so special, I mean this time last year deciding to come back not knowing whether I would be in the synchro team let alone qualifying for the Olympics and being here in Paris diving in front of my son who is just right there, and who asked me to come back is just so special and it completes the set – I now have one of every colour,” he said.

“He’s six years old now and I think he might remember some of this and he’s been most excited about the fact there is a little bit of Eiffel tower in the medal so he’s very excited to get to touch that part of the medal. To be able to enjoy this moment together as a family is special.”

It's SILVER for Tom Daley and Noah Williams!! 👏🥈 What a dive this was to seal it. #BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/dxNLCWg8fW

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 29, 2024

“It means a lot to me, from third last [in Tokyo individual] to second here,” added Noah, who was asked about the pressure of key dives in the pairs list.

“For our fourth dive I certainly felt it, but not so much for dive six as that’s one of my better dives. My fourth dive I’d say last year was probably my worst dive but it was Tom’s best so obviously we needed to use it [to our strength] and I’ve come a long way in the last 12 months just practicing that and I’m really glad it payed off here”

With his synchro partner attempting to hold back the tears, Daley paid tribute to two key figures within the pairs own lives.

“I’ve never seen Noah cry my whole life and I know how much this has meant to him, and to do this for Dave [Jenkins] who has been such a key part in Noah’s diving success. It’s really sad that he’s not able to be here to see this but I know both Dave and my dad would be very proud to see us going in and doing a really solid performance here for a silver medal.”

Noah Williams will resume his Olympic competition in the Men’s 10m Platform on Friday 9th August, while you can find details of all the upcoming aquatics action from Paris 2024 through our What’s On? Page.

Where can I watch?

The BBC will be covering the majority of the Games across BBC One and Two, the BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer. You can find their coverage schedule by clicking here.

Discovery+/Eurosport will also be broadcasting every minute of the Olympic Games but these channels require a subscription fee.