Tom Daley said he felt ‘inferior’ growing up because of his sexuality
The Olympic diver also said being a father has changed his desire to win medals at the Olympics
By Steve Brown
Tom Daley said he “felt inferior” because of his sexuality.
The Olympic diver came out in a YouTube video back in 2013 and has since gone on to become a spokesperson and advocate for the LGBT community alongside his husband Dustin Lance Black.
But while speaking on the first Radio 4 Desert Island Discs presented by Lauren Laverne, the Olympic medallist revealed that growing up he felt “less than” everyone else because it wasn’t “socially acceptable to like boys and girls.”
He said: “To this day, those feelings of feeling less than, and feeling different have been the real things that have given me the power and strength to be able to succeed.”
Daley also went on to say that he wanted to prove to the world that he was “something” so when he eventually came out, people wouldn’t be disappointed.
This year, Daley and Black welcomed their son Robbie into the world – who is named after Daley’s dad who died in 2011 – and the 24 year old said that being a father has changed his desire to win at the Olympics.
He continued: “If you had asked me last year, it was all about, ‘I need to win a gold medal’.
“You know what, there are bigger things than Olympic gold medals. My Olympic gold medal is Robbie.”