Rio 2016: Tom Daley fails to qualify for 10m diving final after catalogue of errors ends gold medal dreams

Daley went from first in qualifying to last in the semi-finals to suffer 10m diving heartbreak

Tom Daley reacts to his elimination from the 10m individual diving (Getty)

The gold so handsomely pledged by Tom Daley after 10m diving bronze in London will not be forthcoming.

In a catastrophic reversal of the form he showed in reaching the semi-finals, topping the qualification list with 571.85 points, Daley finished last of the 18 competitors, failing to make tonight’s medal shoot-out.

“I’ve no idea what went wrong," he said. "Training has been going really well, I’m in the shape of my life, moving better than ever and last night showed that. I was fighting until the end. I would miss a dive and then move onto the next one constantly trying to fight and improve my place.

Tom Daley missed out on the final of the 10m diving competition (Getty)

“When it came down to the last dive I needed 9.5s and 10s to qualify and I know I can do that. I gave it my everything and tried my absolute best. It’s just heartbreaking to think that after four years of hard work and effort it’s tough to accept.

“I guess I’m kind of in shock right now because I know that I could win that gold medal and am probably the only one who could challenge the Chinese for that gold. It definitely does give me that kick to come back in 2020. I want to be Olympic champion – that’s been my dream since I was a kid. At the Olympics you can get your dreams crushed in an instant so it’s tough.”

Daley's second and final dives scored the lowest in the semi-finals (Getty)

His third dive culled the lowest score of the afternoon, 42.75. After a poor second that scored just 54.00, Daley left himself in an almost impossible position.

He recovered his equilibrium with dives of 81.40 and 91.80 but by then it was too late. Needing a score of 101.00 to make the last 12, he recorded a final effort of 54.40 to sum up a shocking display.

China qualified first and second and are favourites to add a seventh gold at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Arena tonight. Only Britain’s Jack Laugher and Chris Mears' in the synchronised 3m springboard have bettered the Chinese thus far.