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Tom Daley reveals some of dad's ashes were buried by pool at 2012 Olympics

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Tom Daley attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Tom Daley lost his dad in 2011. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Tom Daley has revealed that some of his late dad’s ashes were buried near the pool at the 2012 Olympics.

The diver’s father Robert died of cancer in 2011, at the age of 40, so didn’t get the chance to see him perform at the Games in London.

Speaking on This Morning, Daley said: “One of the amazing things before he passed away was, all he ever talked about was London 2012, and if we have tickets... and at the time we didn’t have tickets and parents couldn’t be around the poolside and parents had to be very much away from the athletes.

Read more: Tom Daley wishes his late father could’ve seen him win Olympic gold

“But what ended up happening was that we buried some of his ashes under the tile of the bottom of the platform so that I could put my drinks bottle there and I could touch it every time I was about to perform.

“So he had the best seats in the house in the end!”

The Olympic medallist, 27, also opened up about dealing with his grief over his dad’s illness.

“I found it really difficult to process that I was never going to see him again,” he told hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.

“Although I knew he was sick and was going to pass away at some point, when it actually happened it was so horrible to think about that I actually couldn’t let in sink in that he wasn’t going to see me compete in London 2012 because it was always something we’d always dreamed of doing together.”

Thomas Daley and his dad Robert arrive for the British Academy Television Awards at the London Palladium, W1.
Tom Daley and his late dad Robert. (PA)

“It was a very challenging thing to try and overcome and I kind of blinkered myself to 2012, it was so go go,” he said.

Daley, who clinched a bronze medal in London and won a gold in Tokyo, also hinted that he will compete in Paris 2024.

Read more: Tom Daley's husband posts adorable video of their son cheering him on

“This break has made me realise that I just love it,” he said. “It’ll be hard to say goodbye, you know… it’s only three years now!”

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITV Hub.

Watch: Tom Daley details eating disorder struggle