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Diving: Tom Daley to work with psychologist after 'panic' dive

The Brit was in with a chance of a medal before poor fifth dive

Liz Byrnes
Monday 29 July 2013 11:26 BST
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Tom Daley of Great Britain competes during the Men's 10m Platform Diving final
Tom Daley of Great Britain competes during the Men's 10m Platform Diving final (GETTY IMAGES)

Tom Daley slipped from third with two dives to go to finish sixth in the 10-metre platform final as Great Britain ended their World Championship campaign in Barcelona without a trip to the podium at the Piscine Municipal de Montjuic.

Sarah Barrow came closest with her fourth place in the 10m platform - the most successful result in World Championship history for a British female - while also finishing fifth with Plymouth team-mate Tonia Couch in the 10m synchro.

Rebecca Gallantree and Alicia Blagg were sixth in the 3m synchro while Hannah Starling was an creditable seventh in the 3m springboard after only squeezing into the final in 12th spot.

However, yesterday Daley had seemed on the brink of defying the pain of a torn tricep to claim a medal before his fifth dive - the one he was allowed to redive in last year's Olympics and one he admits to having real battles with - was his undoing.

The 19-year-old suffered the injury in training on Thursday and he needed a local anaesthetic before the competition but a real source of frustration was that a score of 517.40 points was enough for second.

That was claimed by Olympic champion David Boudia behind a masterclass by Chinese defending champion Qiu Bo.

Daley said: "It's one of those frustrating things, knowing it was only 517 points to get a silver medal.

"The scores are low and that could have been my opportunity to get up there again.

"But it's one of those things, if you have got an injury you can only do the best you can do with your injury.

"It's frustrating to see the scores knowing how I was training at the beginning of the week before I tore my tricep.

"That could have been a whole different story, that's sport."

After looking good for a medal, Daley's back two and a half somersault with two and a half twists scuppered his chances.

What was then a help is now a hindrance as the Plymouth diver said: "Ever since the Olympics I have had a massive struggle with that dive.

"It's the one I had the re-dive on and ever since then I've had this thing about it where I panic.

"It's literally one of the dives I have to break down and start again really.

"I'll probably have to learn it from scratch and take it back down to basics because it's one of those dives that when I get up there I can't focus on the dive properly and I'm struggling to visualise it.

"I'm going to be working with our sports psychologists and (coach) Andy Banks to devise plans to get me back on track with that dive."

PA

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