Aldridge blames Daley for diving failure

Teenage diving sensation Tom Daley's much-hyped Olympic debut ended in disappointment and he was later blamed by his partner, Blake Aldridge, for the pair's poor performance after they finished last in the men's synchronised 10 metre platform event.

The 14-year-old Daley and his team-mate began well, finishing the first round in joint third out of eight with Australia and Germany.

However, poor synchronisation on their third dive - an inward three-and-a-half somersault with tuck - cost them their worst score of the competition and dropped them to eighth and last place from which they could not recover.

"I didn’t blow anything and so I can go home happy with my performance," Aldridge said, "but unfortunately it’s a partnership, you both have to be on the top of your game. I wasn't on the top of my game but Tom was nowhere near the top of his," reported the Times Online.

"I knew we were capable of a medal but I knew it would depend on how Tom performed. But I outdived Thomas today and that’s not something that normally happens and that, to me, is because Tom had a lot more pressure on him than I did. Tom was very nervous; more so than ever before and I think he really struggled to get through the competition."

Daley will now compete in the 10m platform individual but for Aldridge his Olympics is over.

"We obviously didn't dive very well, as you could probably tell. It was disappointing but it was a great experience," said Daley.

"We put 100 per cent effort into every dive we did we just didn't pull it off.