Diving: Tom Daley getting bullied at school

Poor Tom:( god flammit i'd wish i could help him chase the bullies away but i live in south not south west:( oh well i'd guess i should see what disition they make.

ONE of Britain's top medal hopes for the London Olympics is being bullied at school due to his high profile, his parents said yesterday.
Teenage diver Tom Daley shot to national fame when he was selected for the Beijing Games and became one of Britain's youngest ever Olympians.The 14-year-old is expected to challenge for medals when the event comes to London in 2012, but his father said the success was causing him
problems at school.Rob Daley, from Plymouth, said he was considering moving his son from Eggbuckland Community College because of the constant jibes and "childish name-calling and antics" of his fellow students.Mr Daley said: "I've been to see Tom's head of year and also the principal in the past six weeks, because Tom has been so upset."Although they cannot be held responsible for the students, I do think the school should be more proactive in trying to sort this bullying out."We wouldn't want to have to do it, but we will change schools unless this is sorted out, as my son's wellbeing comes before everything else."Mr Daley admitted keeping Tom away from school for two days before the Easter break because he felt the bullying might affect his form at the FINA World Series competition in Sheffield.At the event, Tom competed against Australian Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham and won a silver medal, finishing less than a point away from gold.Tom said the bullying started after last year's Olympics and got increasingly worse.He said: "I'd always ignored the 'diver boy' or 'Speedo boy' comments when I came back from Beijing last year, hoping they'd get fed up and stop."The trouble is, they haven't, and it's even the younger kids who are joining in. It's getting to the stage now where I think, 'Oh, to hell with it. I don't want to go back to school'."Katrina Borowski, the school's principal, said: "Tom's extremely high profile has led to a minority of students acting in an immature way towards him."Meetings have been held between college staff, parents and Tom's friends in which appropriate strategies were discussed."Ms Borowski said some students were sanctioned following the complaint and added that the majority considered him "a credit to our college."Dr Mary Brown, lecturer in psychology at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said bullies were just as likely to pick on a sporting hero as a timid child."The bullies recognise psychological strength and are envious of it. They will also be jealous of the great deal of attention Tom has been attracting because he is talented, successful, good socially and popular."They know that someone like Tom, who also has physical strength, has learned to harness that strength and will not allow himself to be provoked into retaliating."There is a myth that only 'wimpy anoraks' are bullied but the real-life evidence points to the opposite being the case."Dr Brown added that she welcomed the fact that Tom and his father had drawn attention to the problem. "Tom has done the right thing by speaking out. An Olympian admitting he is being bullied will help others who don't have his confidence."

I get bullied alot too:( but at this position and at my point of view I think their behaviour over Tom is attrotouse and disgusting, acting like a load of 5 year olds around him.

Gymnastics: Nastia Liukin interview

usagymnasticd.org has interviewed nastia just to catchup on what she has been doing latley:)


Nastia Liukin’s total of five medals at the 2008 Olympic Games tied the U.S. gymnastics record for most medals in one Olympic Games, currently held by Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Shannon Miller (1992). Liukin’s medals are: gold – all-around; silver – team, balance beam and uneven bars; and bronze – floor exercise. Liukin is just the third U.S. woman to win the Olympic all-around crown. She has won nine world medals (four gold and five silver), which ties the mark of nine world medals held by Shannon Miller, who has earned more world and Olympic medals than any other U.S. gymnast (16 total). Liukin was a member of the 2007 World Championships that won the team gold medal, which was the U.S. women's second world team title in U.S. history. She is the 2005-06 U.S. all-around champion. Liukin is coached by her father, Valeri, who has four Olympic medals from 1988, including two gold.
Liukin’s life has been a whirlwind since Beijing and she has attended New York’s Fashion Week, modeled for designer Max Azria and designed a clothing line for Vanilla Jeans. Although she is still in high demand for appearances and clinics, she has returned to training full-time for the 2009 Visa Championships, which are in her hometown of Dallas.
USA Gymnastics recently caught up with Liukin to ask about the Olympic Games, her life post-Beijing and her future plans.
What is your favorite memory from China?
Being able to be part of Team USA! It was the most amazing experience of my life! Living in the village was so cool, too. And of course winning five medals at my first Olympic Games.
How has life changed since the Olympic Games?
My life has gotten so much busier. I am traveling a lot for appearances, shows, clinics and photo shoots, and I’m meeting a lot of people. I love every minute of it and am still in shock sometimes when I think about it!
Have you seen any of your Olympic teammates since the tour ended?
Yes, I have seen them all quite a bit. We all stay in touch on a regular basis. We created such a strong bond throughout the years that will never go away. It was a very special team we had this year.
What has been your favorite thing you have done since the Olympic Games?Modeling for Max Azria, (being guests on) Oprah with the whole Olympic Team, (being a guest on) Jay Leno and (performing in) the Tour of Gymnastics Superstars.
You have modeled for Max Azria and designed a fashion line for Vanilla Star. Are you interested in a career in the fashion industry?I love fashion, and yes, I would love to do more things in the industry. Up until now, I haven't had too much time for that, so it’s nice to have time to try different things!
Do you want to pursue modeling?I think it would be very fun. It’s something I enjoy doing, but as of right now, my priority is definitely still gymnastics. So the modeling can either wait or just be a sideline thing!
Modeling is said to be hard work – how difficult was it with the Max Azria shoots?It was actually not too difficult! The whole shoot took seven hours, including hair and makeup.
Have any of the opportunities you have enjoyed given you insight into what you might want to do long-term?
Possibly modeling or acting. But also I want to stay involved in gymnastics for the rest of my life. It has gotten me all of these amazing opportunities!
Are you still traveling quite a bit?Yes, I’m still traveling, but not as much as the last eight months. I'm REALLY trying hard to keep it to a minimum and mostly on weekends. That way I don't miss training.
Have you had a break? Were you able to go on vacation?
I didn't really take a vacation yet. But I was able to get a break from full-time training with all the traveling I did. But now I'm back in the gym and back to my normal schedule!
You finally went to Paris, correct? How was it? What things did you do/see?
I LOVED Paris! It’s always been on my "places to visit" list. I went with my mom and dad. We stayed in a beautiful hotel and our view was the Eiffel Tower! We were only there for two days, but we just walked around a lot, ate great food and went shopping, of course.
You have been all over the world for competitions and appearances. What is your favorite international city?
Melbourne, Australia.
What is your favorite U.S. city?
Los Angeles!
How is school?
I have actually decided to take a break from classes to concentrate fully on training and getting back in shape. It was a little hard with training and especially traveling. But I hope when things slow down, I can start back up.
How is training going?
It was a little frustrating because I have never taken more then just three days off. After almost six months of not training intensely, it was a little hard getting back into it. But it just takes time and I had to be patient. Gymnastics is something I have a passion for and I love, and I know if I put my heart and mind to it, "impossible is nothing."
What’s your typical day like?
I wake up at 6:30 a.m. and go running before training. Then I train from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. I then have lunch, run errands or help my mom with anything she needs, and take a little rest. Then training again from 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Are you excited to have the Visa Championships in Dallas?
I am SO excited for the Visa Championships to be in Dallas!!! I can't wait! Texas, especially Dallas, is a huge hot spot for gymnastics. I am hoping a lot of fans will come out and enjoy the weekend of great gymnastics! I've never had a big competition in front of a home crowd, so I'm excited but I know I will be nervous, too.
What are your future goals for gymnastics?
I would love to compete at the World Championships this year in London in October. The 2012 Olympics are a little more than three years away. Time is flying by already! I am taking it one year at a time, but the Olympics are, once again, in the back of my mind as a long-term goal.
What is your favorite gymnastics memory?My favorite gymnastics memory is becoming the Olympic all-around champion. I will never forget that feeling of hearing my name next to those words


Well it looks like she will be training for 2012...YAY!!!! i'd love to see her defend her all-around title:D

Profectionist Tom Daley will not fall short

"Staying in bed, lying in, going to town," says Tom Daley, as he sits in the balcony, surveying Plymouth's Central Park Pool, packed as it is with frolicking holiday-makers. For Daley, however, his Easter break consists of the following:
"Morning and afternoon in here. Sixty per cent dry land work, in an old squash court round the back. Lots of trampolining, fitness, weights, strength and conditioning.
"Then into the pool, lots of stuff off the lower boards, practising the individual parts of a dive. Plus maybe 12 full dives off the top board per session."
And this Saturday there is the small matter of appearing as Britain's leading representative in the World Series diving competition, to be held in Sheffield.
"Still," he adds, unleashing the megawatt smile that you suspect will, over the next few years, earn him a quid or two, "the thing is when they're all back at school, I'm off to Mexico and America for three weeks. That's the compensation. That's what I tell myself when I'm working."
As is clear from his hectic holiday routine, Tom Daley is far from an ordinary young boy of 14. Last Christmas, for instance, he switched on the decorative lights hereabouts and more than a thousand girls turned up and screamed continuously ("insane," is his father Bob's memory of the occasion; "quite funny" Tom's own take on it).
Which is something that has not happened to any 14-year-old since Donny Osmond was doing the illuminatory honours in the early Seventies.
Indeed at an age when most 14-year-olds are not much more than a maelstrom of competing hormones, Daley is already the best diver in the country, and, after finishing third in a recent international tournament, is now rapidly climbing up the world rankings.
Many – including the lad himself – reckon he has a chance of being at the very top before he is 18. Which, by a happy coincidence, would be in time for London 2012.
"My personal best last year was 498," he says. "At the British championships this season I got 505 in the semis, 517 in the final. In the latest world series I got 532 in the semis, 540 in the final. So I'm getting closer [to the top]."
If he does reach the summit in London it will be a nice contrast with Beijing last summer. Daley arrived in China to find himself the media focus of the British team, his remarkable youth a magnet for attention. And remarkable it is. His is not a sport like, say, gymnastics, which is dominated by the pubescent. Most champions are in their twenties.
It was even more unusual for a British boy to be so prominent. For a start pools in this country (including Daley's own, subsequent to his prominence) ban youngsters from going anywhere near the 10-metre board until they reach 14.
Besides, as a sporting nation we tend to view prodigies with a degree of suspicion, reckoning them the products of an unhappy alliance of overzealous coaches and pushy parents (often one and the same).
But Daley is none of that. There was nothing planned in his rise. His history is one of coincidence. He happened to live in a part of the country with access to a diving pool, gave it a go and discovered that he had a natural inclination.
"There's no doubt about it, if this facility wasn't here I wouldn't be a diver," he comments. "Don't know what I'd be doing if I wasn't doing this. Lying in bed probably."
By the time he was 10, he was British under-18 champion; at 14 he was an Olympian. Yet he seems entirely unaffected by his brilliance in the pool. And alongside him, Bob Daley is the antithesis of pushy, always there at the poolside, but never imposing himself.
"Why would I?" Bob says. "I haven't the first clue how to dive." The sudden intensity of media interest at Beijing, however, seemed to affect what happened to Daley.
It was not so much his own performance that wilted in the attention as that of his dive partner, Blake Aldridge, 26. After the pair finished last in the final of the synchronised pairs event, Aldridge unravelled in front of the press, blaming the celebrity that had attached itself to the youngster for their Olympic failure.
"The Olympic village is like being in the Big Brother house; you have no idea what's going on in the real world," Daley recalls. "So I didn't find out about the whole Blake thing till I got home. I was very annoyed. The main reason I was annoyed was because it detracted from Rebecca Adlington [who won gold the same day].
"That's all anyone should have been interested in but instead there was loads [in the papers] about me and Blake. That annoyed me because hers was a real achievement and ours was just the sort of dispute that happens."
Yet Daley came out of the rancour well. Keeping his cool and his counsel, he was reckoned to be the mature one of the pair, Aldridge the one behaving like a kid.
"Yeah, maybe," he explains. "But we need to get people thinking well of the Olympics. That kind of attention wasn't very nice. What happened was not that dramatic.
"Just before the last dive he phoned his mum in the audience. I was a bit taken aback. I said to him: 'do you think you should be doing that?' He doesn't like being told what to do, so he got annoyed.
"Then it got out of hand. It was before the last dive. I think he thought, 'well it's all over, we've blown it'. He'd already given up. I wanted to go out with a bang. I wanted to give it my best shot."
That, he says, is what he always does.
"I'm quite a perfectionist. I'm like that in school, I do everything I can to make sure I get as high marks as possible. Because in my sporting life I'm used to listening to coaches, I listen to what teachers have to say. Diving's a sport that's all about marks. You have to be perfect to win. And I like to strive for perfection."
It would, he adds, be a much easier life if he wasn't that way inclined.
"I don't like the attention," he says. "In school, when I'm named at assembly, I hate it. It's like so embarrassing. You get other kids taking the mick, throwing stuff at you, it's not that great.
"After the Olympics I thought it would get to a peak and then go down, but it hasn't really. It's like annoying. It gets on your nerves, kids saying 'how much are your legs worth? I'll break them for you'."
So why doesn't he just duck out of it all, spend his time like he is this holiday, being a full-time athlete? Through endorsements and funding he is already making a reasonable living.
According to the signage on its side, the family minivan outside the pool, the one in which Bob drives him to meets, has been provided by sponsors. Things will only get better financially. Why not just leave school now and get a bit of home tutoring between training sessions?
"Definitely not," he says. "What happens if I get injured between now and 2012? No, you can never tell in sport. I need something to fall back on."
Besides, he adds, his sport has given him a real resilience.
"Dive off there," he says, pointing at the 10-metre board brooding over the pool, so high it looks as though it can only be accessed by helicopter, "and you don't find much scary.
"Course, you still have all the struggles everyone else has. But if you can go into a diving pool half naked in front of loads of people, you feel more confident in yourself."
At the weekend, Daley will need all that competitive confidence. He will be diving in the Sheffield with a new partner in the pairs. With Aldridge absent following an injury he received in a nightclub altercation, he will dive in the pairs with 16-year-old Max Brick from Southampton. Presumably they have spent an age practising their routine together.
"Nope," he says. "We've never dived together before."
Not even in practice?
"Not even in practice. We'll meet up on Thursday and do some stuff."
But doesn't the word synchronised in the event's title imply the pair have to work, well, like a pair?
"Oh, we've known each other years," he says. "We get on really well. Synchro is a matter of doing your individual dives well and then you should have the technique for everything to come together. We'll be fine. It's a matter of one, two, three go."
Besides, he adds, the individual event will be his main focus.
"I was two points off the Chinese in Beijing [where he finished seventh]. I'm determined to get past them. They're not unbeatable. No way. But there's a psychological barrier. I need to beat them somewhere, anywhere. Then once I have, I'm away."
But the thing about the Chinese is that they appear to be robots, unsmiling automatons single-minded in their task. Whereas Daley, with his chirpy grin, his worries about his GCSE exams, his fondness for the Kings of Leon, the kindness evident in his refusal when a small boy approaches to ask for his phone number so he can text him, suggest he is not remotely robotic.
Would he trade all that humanity for Olympic gold in 2012?
"Definitely. Course I would. I'd do anything for that gold. To be the best on the planet, come on. It's what I've always wanted. It's something you can't buy, something you have to strive so hard to achieve. To do it, that would be amazing."
That is the difference between Tom Daley and an ordinary 14-year-old: the ordinary can only dream, the extraordinary can actually make it happen.

It sounds like people are not giving him any space at the moment, not just the kids at his school but the press also. But it soulds like training is going well he knows what he has to do in order to stay fit before 2012 begins...i'd say lets give him some space and let him get on with it:P

Gymnastics: GK Launch New Gold Medal Collection

GK’s 2009 Summer Essentials Gymnastics Leotards collection features new signature Leotards Collections from Nastia.Nastia presents her latest Gold Medal Collection of gymnastics leotards. The Summer Nastia Liukin Leotards feature 6 new styles, including the latest Chinese charater leotard - “Dream” (see right). Nastia is also featuring a workout version of her red and white WOGA team leotard that she has worn over the past few seasons. Click here to visit GK’s website and check out the entire collection!

GK is the world’s leading supplier of gymnastics apparel and is recognized around the world for superior variety, quality, fit and service. GK is proud to have been chosen by adidas® to GK’s 2009 Summer Essentials Gymnastics Leotards collection features new signature Leotards Collections from Nastia.Nastia presents her latest Gold Medal Collection of gymnastics leotards. The Summer Nastia Liukin Leotards feature 6 new styles, including the latest Chinese charater leotard - “Dream” (see right). Nastia is also featuring a workout version of her red and white WOGA team leotard that she has worn over the past few seasons. Click here to visit GK’s website and check out the entire collection!GK is the world’s leading supplier of gymnastics apparel and is recognized around the world for superior variety, quality, fit and service. GK is proud to have been chosen by adidas® to manufacture the US National Team Competitive apparel for USA Gymnastics since 2000 and is the sole producer of adidas® brand gymnastics apparel in the USA. Based in Reading, Pennsylvania, Elite Sportswear, L.P., the company behind the GK brand, continues its commitment to American-made quality and continuous innovation in designs for Gymnastics, Cheerleading, Dance, and Drill Team apparel. For more information about GK visit http://www.gk-elitesportswear.com or contact Kelly Christman at 610-921-1469.In other news, Nastia updated her Of The Moment list. Be sure to visit the Favorites page to see her new choices! Finally we added five new avatars!manufacture the US National Team Competitive apparel for USA Gymnastics since 2000 and is the sole producer of adidas® brand gymnastics apparel in the USA. Based in Reading, Pennsylvania, Elite Sportswear, L.P., the company behind the GK brand, continues its commitment to American-made quality and continuous innovation in designs for Gymnastics, Cheerleading, Dance, and Drill Team apparel. For more information about GK visit http://www.gk-elitesportswear.com or contact Kelly Christman at 610-921-1469.

In other news, Nastia updated her Of The Moment list. Be sure to visit the Favorites page to see her new choices! Finally we added five new avatars!

Gymnastics: 2009 euro's womans results

I know its a bit late but i thought i'd post it anyway incase no one knows what the results were:)

All-around

1 171 SEMENOVA Ksenia RUS 14.225 14.925 14.800 14.225 58.175
2 170 AFANASEVA Ksenia RUS 14.525 14.925 13.575 14.575 57.600
3 177 KAESLIN Ariella SUI 15.300 13.975 14.300 13.700 57.275
4 121 IZURIETA Ana Maria ESP 14.850 13.175 14.300 14.000 56.325
5 167 TAMIRJAN Anamaria ROU 14.650 13.975 14.600 12.700 55.925
6 103 VAN WALLEGHEM Aagje BEL 14.200 14.125 13.675 13.900 55.900
7 126 PETIT Marine FRA 14.150 13.650 13.800 14.000 55.600
8 132 BRINKER Anja GER 13.650 15.000 13.250 13.525 55.425
9 150 FERRARI Vanessa ITA 12.700 13.875 14.075 14.525 55.175
10 162 PIHANKULESZA
Marta POL 13.600 14.200 13.650 13.700 55.150
11 127 DOWNIE Rebecca GBR 14.325 15.000 11.700 14.050 55.075
12 187 DEMYANCHUK Yana UKR 13.625 13.700 14.500 13.175 55.000
13 178 ZIMMERMANN Yasmin SUI 14.100 12.925 13.500 14.000 54.525
14 168 CHELARU Diana ROU 14.675 13.525 11.900 14.400 54.500
15 159 KROONEN Mayra NED 13.975 13.500 13.325 13.675 54.475
16 131 BUI Kim GER 14.150 14.400 11.575 14.250 54.375
17 130 WHELAN Hannah GBR 13.550 13.925 13.750 13.100 54.325
18 190 HOLENKOVA Valentyna UKR 13.600 14.400 13.325 12.825 54.150
19 125 DUFOURNET Youna FRA 13.700 13.700 13.875 11.750 53.025
20 147 MAKSUTA Valeria ISR 14.025 11.800 13.725 13.275 52.825
21 158 MASELA Wyomi NED 14.050 12.525 12.450 13.650 52.675
22 120 RUIZ WALKER Naomi ESP 14.250 10.650 13.050 13.650 51.600
23 139 GOMBAS Laura HUN 13.400 10.050 11.175 13.075 47.700
24 151 ARMI Emily ITA 13.625 2.000 12.925 13.825 42.375

Vault


1 177 KAESLIN Ariella SUI 14.625
2 173 BERGER Yulia RUS 14.325
3 188 KALASHNYK Anna UKR 14.275
4 103 VAN WALLEGHEM Aagje BEL 14.200
5 131 BUI Kim GER 14.150
6 127 DOWNIE Rebecca GBR 14.025
7 158 MASELA Wyomi NED 13.950
8 115 KOMRSKOVA Jana CZE 13.875

Uneven Bars


1 128 TWEDDLE Elizabeth GBR 15.575
2 171 SEMENOVA Ksenia RUS 15.500
3 132 BRINKER Anja GER 14.800
4 125 DUFOURNET Youna FRA 14.650
4 170 AFANASEVA Ksenia RUS 14.650
6 127 DOWNIE Rebecca GBR 14.525
7 189 KOVAL Anastasia UKR 14.350
8 190 HOLENKOVA Valentyna UKR 12.700

Beam


1 187 DEMYANCHUK Yana UKR 14.775
2 167 TAMIRJAN Anamaria ROU 14.750
3 169 DRAGOI Gabriela ROU 14.650
4 126 PETIT Marine FRA 14.150
5 171 SEMENOVA Ksenia RUS 14.125
6 147 MAKSUTA Valeria ISR 13.725
7 136 MILLOUSI Vasiliki GRE 13.450
8 178 ZIMMERMANN Yasmin SUI 12.850

Floor


1 128 TWEDDLE Elizabeth GBR 15.150
2 150 FERRARI Vanessa ITA 14.675
3 171 SEMENOVA Ksenia RUS 14.625
4 167 TAMIRJAN Anamaria ROU 14.075
4 121 IZURIETA Ana Maria ESP 14.075
6 190 HOLENKOVA Valentyna UKR 13.925
7 166 IZBASA Sandra Raluca ROU 13.900
8 149 PAROLARI Lia ITA 13.525

Gymnastics: Message from Nastia.

Posted on 11 april 2009 on www.nastialiukin.com

Hey everyone! Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Easter! Enjoy spending time with your loved ones & stay safe! XOXO
Nastia

she has got a nice personallity:)

Gymnastics: 09 us nationals

I can't wait till the us nationals but i live in England so that is a shame but i hope usagymnastics will do a live webcast like they did with the american cup:) I have a feeling that Shawn is not gonna be their, thats a bummer i would love to see her regaine her title but she won't be in good shape on time.

Well we can look on the bright side Nastia is gonna be their, so is chelsie and sam, bridget, shayla, ivana everyone will be their but Alicia who has now retired i heared she is living in LA now??? The remaining champs are Shawn Johnson on the womans side and David Sender on the mens side it is going to be a heck of a compitition it usurially is after the olympics. Nastia is going to have a new floor routien and i am dying to know what her new floor music is but it is obviouse she is not going to tell us she wants to keep it as a surprise...fair enough at least we have something to look forward too:) the us nationals will be helled in Dallas,TX on the 12-15 August:)

Diving: Daley looks to new partnership with Brick

The British diving champion Tom Daley has found a new partner and they will make their competitive debut at the World Series in Sheffield later this month. Daley's father Rob told BBC Sport that Max Brick, 17, will replace Blake Aldridge, after his partnership with Daley ended following the Olympics. "There are only a few candidates in the UK anywhere near Tom's level," he said. "It was just a case of waiting until he was ready – he's a good match for Tom, as close as anybody is going to be."
The duo have only practised together once so far but have known one another for several years, having met at a World Class Start programme in September 2003.
"All the coaches in the diving world speak to each other and know who comes up through the ranks and he was the most obvious choice," said Mr Daley.
"Physique doesn't make a huge difference [to a partnership], but put them side by side and they look identical; he's got the same colour hair and same build – it could be a perfect match."
Brick is just three years older than 14-year-old Daley, a big change from previous partner Aldridge, who was 12 years his senior. Based in Southampton, while Daley usually trains in Plymouth, Brick won synchro gold with Jack Chewlow at the recent national championships.
British Diving's high performance manager Kim White confirmed the duo will be diving together in Sheffield but did not commit to long-term plans.
"The possibility of Daley and Brick diving together is something we've been working towards for a while," he said in a statement. "We'll be having a look at what they have to offer as a team in Sheffield. Max had a great outing in Turin last week at the European Championships where he finished sixth in his first major international event with a very good score."
Although they were not expected to be among the medals in Beijing last year, Aldridge and Daley were expected to put on a decent performance. However they finished last in the pairs and their relationship looked to be strained following an angry exchange after Aldridge phoned his mother between rounds.
Aldridge then missed the British Championships in February after being injured in an incident at a nightclub, prompting Daley Snr to say he would prefer his son to have a different partner. "I have no input into who he dives with – but I have input into who he doesn't dive with," he said.

Im glad he had finally found a new partner after what happened during Beijing i wish bith of them good luck:D

Tom Daley faces taunts back at school

The rollercoaster is probably the most appropriate ride the Americans could have asked Tom Daley to open this summer on a rare promotional outing, the result of his fame as an iconic figure among Britain's Olympians in Beijing. Even before he reaches his 15th birthday next month, Daley has experienced the highs, as the youngest member of the Great Britain squad last summer, and then the low of his very public spat with Blake Aldridge, his synchronised diving partner at the Games.
It has been much the same rollercoaster at home: adulation tainted by taunting, verging dangerously on bullying, from teenage contemporaries jealous of his achievements. Daley forgave Aldridge, even though he believes his former partner destroyed their team ethic, but it remains to be seen whether he can walk away from the playground name-calling that is clearly getting under his skin.
On the surface, it probably does not seem much, the odd gibe as he walks into Eggbuckland Community College in Plymouth, where he is an A* student. But when asked how he copes with the adoration of his fans, he comes back with the surprising retort: “In school, it's the opposite - they all hate me. I just want to tell them to go away.
“Some people are happy for me, but there are plenty who take the mick. It's a great shame. You get used to it and try to ignore it. It's mainly names and chucking paper at me. They call me ‘Speedo Boy' and ‘Diver Boy'. OK, I get it, I want to tell them, but it just becomes annoying.
“I don't care because I am doing something I love, but then I can't walk through school without the names and I just want to say ‘shut up'. Lots of people I spoke to at the Olympics said it happened to them. Tonia Couch [another Olympic diver from Plymouth] said she got it, so it seems to go with being an athlete.”
There is another dark side to fame that puzzles him. Fraudsters have set up profiles on networking websites pretending to be him. He does not understand what is going on and it is difficult to fathom why anyone would want to impersonate a 14-year-old, in spite of his obvious fame and public recognition.
“Lots of people have made up sites pretending to be me, which is quite scary,” he said. “These people put in their profile as Thomas Daley and pretend to be me. It's a little bit strange. I don't know what to make of it. It's a bit spooky.”
Daley is little more than a child and his brow furrows as he tries to figure out what is happening in a world that seemed so simple last August when he revelled in the attention lavished on him as Team GB's “baby”, just 14 years and 82 days old when he climbed on to the ten-metre platform for his first Olympic dive.
His wide smile and charming manners turned him into a celebrity around the world - explaining the invitation to open the new SeaWorld ride in Orlando, Florida, this year - and became one of the faces of Beijing.
In fact, Daley, far from being a shy youngster, has turned into something of a heart-throb. One networking website - welovetomdaley - is awash with female interest, with more than 1,000 youngsters declaring they are “sharing their luv”.
He undoubtedly has personal magnetism. Onlookers tell of a visit to a girls' school a few weeks ago where the students clustered around windows to get a glimpse of the young Olympian. Daley is small but perfectly formed, neatly muscled with cropped dark hair and bright eyes that laugh at the corners when he opens up to smile. The girls were banging on the windows until someone suggested he waved; it triggered a tidal wave of squealing adoration.
When it came to speaking to the girls, though, Daley was the ultimate professional, talking them through diet and nutrition as one of the most effective ambassadors for healthy living the Government could recruit.
It would be ridiculous to say Daley is passionate about the subject, but he is wise enough to know that claims by ministers that London 2012 will spark a health revolution are probably a large pie in the sky, which will more often than not be washed down with a pint of lager and a plate of chips.
“It does annoy me when people get fatter,” he said. “They could do something about it, but they don't. It's as though they get fat and then live up to the label. Even when fat people lose weight, they think of themselves as fat people in thin bodies. Gyms cost loads of money to go to and people are not going to splash out on that. You have to want to be in shape. You just have to have the right mindset. My grandad smoked from the age of 8 and gave up at 60. He just stopped and that was it. You can do it.”
It seems that Daley is genetically blessed with willpower, if his break-up with Aldridge is anything to go by. It was never a match made in heaven, in spite of their success leading up to the Olympics. Aldridge was 26 and Daley 14 in Beijing, where the argument during their ten-metre synchronised platform final, in which they came last, was captured by the world's cameras. Aldridge later blamed Daley for being “overnervous”, but the youngster said: “I got higher individual scores than him and he found it easier to blame someone else. I always thought that if you go in as a team, you come out as a team - no matter what happens. If you dive well and your partner doesn't, then you say we both did well because you are a team.”
With a Fina World Series event starting in Sheffield tomorrow week and Aldridge ditched, Daley has no worries about his new team-mate. His partner, Max Brick, 16, has already become a friend. “We [Aldridge and Daley] were synchro partners,” Daley, who is the European ten-metre individual champion, said. “Other teams are really good friends, but we never were like that. If you are good friends, it makes it easier to train and have fun. I never felt that with Blake. He was always like a dad or a big brother and it was never fun. Not the way it will be with Matt. Definitely not.”
So one new mate gained, perhaps a friendship that could cancel out the gibes of schoolmates who have not yet learnt to grow up and appreciate Tom Daley for creating his own small piece of Olympic history.

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