[glousck]

(Original post by EnigmaticSpirit)
People hold those celebrities in such a high esteem and respect without even knowing them. Academia is far more important than sports thus, I judged based on his academic record, FROM AN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL/COLLEGE.

Not sure if you're trolling or not. Just the essence of what you're saying is "Yeah, he might win gold at the Olympics. So what if he might turn out to win a medal declaring him the best in the world at a sport. So what if he carried on shortly after his dad died. He did weak A Levels and probz at an independant school as well, lol fail!!!111'

It just seems like you're trying to dismiss what he's done for no reason atall. And no, 3 A's isn't as common as you think, even if ti is in 'weak subjects'. I take it you've studied Maths, Spanish and Photography to know the exact difficult of them, as you would know that soft subject doesn't equal easy subject. Many people at my sixth form were constantly struggling in Photography yet did well i others.

[Benniboi1]

(Original post by EnigmaticSpirit)
I never did but judging average-top grades, one being in a poor subject, as respectable simply because one has less time to study is ridiculous. I could say, "I got 2 A*s and 2 As in my A Levels, which were Photography, Media Studies, Mathematics and French, while I was training to become part of a football team." It doesn't make top grades in poor, soft subjects any good!

If you've got nothing good to say then don't say anything.

Gold or no gold I think Tom's a pretty cool guy. He lives a mad life but still seems pretty down to Earth.

[EnigmaticSpirit]

(Original post by glousck)
Not sure if you're trolling or not. Just the essence of what you're saying is "Yeah, he might win gold at the Olympics. So what if he might turn out to win a medal declaring him the best in the world at a sport. So what if he carried on shortly after his dad died. He did weak A Levels and probz at an independant school as well, lol fail!!!111'

It just seems like you're trying to dismiss what he's done for no reason atall. And no, 3 A's isn't as common as you think, even if ti is in 'weak subjects'. I take it you've studied Maths, Spanish and Photography to know the exact difficult of them, as you would know that soft subject doesn't equal easy subject. Many people at my sixth form were constantly struggling in Photography yet did well i others.

I am perfectly serious. I never commented on the difficulty of Photography; I just pointed out that that particular subject is 'soft' and not good enough as a third subject for top universities. If universities like Durham do not like Sociology, English Language, etc. which are a step above Photography, then I am dubious of their view regarding Photography as a third A Level. As I mentioned, he went to an independent school and only achieved 3 As.

[QuantumSuicide]

8A*s and 1A according to wikipedia.

[EnigmaticSpirit]

(Original post by Benniboi1)
If you've got nothing good to say then don't say anything.

Gold or no gold I think Tom's a pretty cool guy. He lives a mad life but still seems pretty down to Earth.

Bascially, silence anyone who has an opinion that isn't automatically positive and encouraging, right? Wrong.

[EnigmaticSpirit]

(Original post by QuantumSuicide)
8A*s and 1A according to wikipedia.

So? For someone from a private school this is average and easily-attainable.

[Miracle Day]

(Original post by EnigmaticSpirit)
So? For someone from a private school this is average and easily-attainable.

You seem to imply those people from private schools do this with ease.

[spacepirate-James]

(Original post by EnigmaticSpirit)
So? For someone from a private school this is average and easily-attainable.

Yes but being an olympic diver isn't so easily attainable? I don't see what angle you're coming from. He has alright results but you must take into consideration his life other than academia.

[EnigmaticSpirit]

(Original post by Miracle Day)
You seem to imply those people from private schools do this with ease.

With the expenses paid for top-notch resources and teachers it should be easy. It is much more arduous to achieve top grades at a comprehensive where most people are disruptive and achieve C grades.

[Benniboi1]

(Original post by EnigmaticSpirit)
Bascially, silence anyone who has an opinion that isn't automatically positive and encouraging, right? Wrong.

We've been waiting for these 2 weeks for 7 years, people have been working towards these few weeks day in day out for most of their lives and they have a chance to make history and be one of the few people to win a gold in their home Olympics. Better yet, some people (ie Tom Daley) can do it when he's just 18 and it would change his life quite frankly. The fact he did Photography as one of his A-levels (whether or not it's a highly regarded subject) is redundant.

I don't see why you're so hung up on dumbing him down?

[Ocassus]

(Original post by #JayJay)
he could be. but then he seems to be the face of Team GB and the whole nation is in love with him - including his fanbase of extreme and loyal teenage girls. and if he comes out, that will destroy his fanbase and he would lose a lot of money, alongside Team GB with the sponsors and attention from media

it's sad, but it's how the world works today. if Bieber was gay then he certainly wouldn't be as successful as he is today due to lack of money and fans

maybe one day people won't judge so harshly on homosexuality

(Original post by Miracle Day)
He isn't, he's just a little camp.

You are actually correct Miracle, Tom is straight.

Hes straight because A : It is the worst kept secret in Plymouth that he had a fling with one of the female divers who train there.
B : It was patently obvious that Andy was extremely angry at him about a year ago because he had actually prioritised a girl over training, even from the other end of the pool where the swimmers are it was clear. C : His 'campness' that everybody appears to percieve is just his voice, which has a slight effeminate twist (I think vocal scientists refer this to nasal canal reverberation), he plays football (terribly), he can do a bit of banter and its quite obvious that he likes girls just by observing how he looks at some of them.


Yes, Tom is a pretty sweet diver (seeing the stuff he does in person on a regular basis still doesn't stop you from being blown away every single dive), but Qiu Bo is quite literally a precision machine forged in China. No school, no family, all diving. One thing that irritates me though is his overexposure to the media, as other posters have pointed out, Tom was pretty much the central focus of the GB team, even more so than Chris who was the effing flagbearer. Yes yes, Tom is 18 and a diver. Are we forgetting Jack Laugher, the 16 year old diving prodigy who holds a European title on the 3M springboard, where is his coverage? What about Siobhan? A 16 year old competing in the SWIMMING for cripes sake. She is absolutely drop dead gorgeous and she is competing in a sport that is not almost entirely technical (Diving can be classified as one of the most technical sports in the games, especially at Olympic level where everybodies strength is roughly the same in the competition), meaning she has had to put in a buttload of work to get as physically capable as her older counterparts.

Tom is a good lad and he has done wonders for his sport, which was relatively underexposed, but I do think his overexposure is not really fair on any other athlete. I mean, hand on heart, who could say who his synchro partner is on monday without looking it up? Exactly, a man who has achieved more than Tom and did so from a similar age is shafted in this case.

[Stoof]

Regardless of the subjects he took (and succeeded in), he'll most likely make more money than we ever will because he's a professional athlete, not a photographer. He didn't need to get A's, but good on the guy for doing so with a full time training regime as well.

[DotComBoom]

I have a lot of respect for him. He's still really young, he's one of the leading lights in his sport, he's travelled round the world yet still attained fantastic grades and he's had to cope with losing his dad.

I really hope he can win gold.

[TheCookieduck]

There are some sad, jealous people on here. He's hopefully gonna make history whilst making damn good grades and dealing with the death of his father.

Credit to him because that takes a lot!

Shame on those of you belittling his achievements. Not that it matters ... you'll still be a loser grumbling behind a computer screen while he does Britain proud, whatever the outcome of his event.

[Ocassus]

(Original post by EnigmaticSpirit)
So? For someone from a private school this is average and easily-attainable.

I'll put it into perspective for you since you seem quite ignorant.

Plymouth College is a middling Private school that happens to specialise in providing *good* education to people, its real strength is its ties with Plymouth Leander (swimming) and Plymouth diving club, which are both amongst the best clubs in the entire world.

In order to qualify for the highest levels of scholarship (which Tom did), you are required to do upwards of 24 hours of training a week and about 6 hours of gym a week.

Tom was in the pool two hours every morning, two hours every afternoon most days and then in the gym. On top of that he had a full school life and a teen-girl driven national media breathing down his neck.

Please, don't trivialise the achievements of Olympians, you'll just look like an idiot. I understand that Tom's grades are not Cambridge material, good thing he has never aimed for Cambridge. Cambridge do not have the facilities for his diving nor would he have the time with all his studies to continue diving.

[gagaslilmonsteruk]

I knew he was dedicating his performance to his Dad, but I had no idea that it was because he died; I genuinely thought it was because he wanted to thank his Dad for all the years of support he had given him in the diving. I'm going to try and watch the diving on Monday because I think he will do well. He will do GB proud no matter where he comes. I wish him the best of luck.

[simibean]

I wish him the best off luck for these games.
I watched the documerntary of him on BBC1, it was quite moving

[#JayJay]

(Original post by Ocassus)
I mean, hand on heart, who could say who his synchro partner is on monday without looking it up? Exactly, a man who has achieved more than Tom and did so from a similar age is shafted in this case.

I know the guy is bald...

but I didn't say that he is. I said he could be. I mean it wouldn't shock me too much if when he's retired or out of the spotlight, he would say something about it.

otherwise it's not something that I care deeply about

[ThatPerson]

The comments in this thread are unbelievable. If his achievements are so easy, I'd like some of you try to do his training, cope with the loss of a parent, get A's at A-Level(Even if one is photography, the others were Maths and Spanish) combined with the pressure of doing well on home soil in London 2012.

I'd challenge anyone on this thread to complete a dive like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh_ZAup37xk

[Ocassus]

(Original post by ThatPerson)
The comments in this thread are unbelievable. If his achievements are so easy, I'd like some of you try to do his training, cope with the loss of a parent, get A's at A-Level(Even if one is photography, the others were Maths and Spanish) combined with the pressure of doing well on home soil in London 2012.

I'd challenge anyone on this thread to complete a dive like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh_ZAup37xk

His hardest dive.

I think only one person (who is trolling) is belittle his achievement. But you've got to understand, in the grand scheme of things Tom is impressive, but relative to some of the people on his team he doesn't deserve all the focus and attention. Like I said, Jack Laugher, another diver, who is younger than Tom is a favourite for the gold on the 3m. Siobhan, a 16 year old, is competing in a more strength orientated sport (where age matters much more) and has got no attention.

Its not particularly fair on the other athletes.