Rio 2016: Tom Daley looks to the heavens but believes bond with Dan Goodfellow can bring Olympic success

Daley believes rain at the outdoor Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre could make conditions tricky for Team GB's opponents

Tom Daley believes a strong bond with diving partner Dan Goodfellow can bring success at Rio 2016 (Getty)

Tom Daley would have opened his curtains in the Athletes Village on Sunday morning and let out a little sigh. It was a bright sunny start to the day. By tea-time the British diver’s mood may have brightened as the skies darkened and the clouds rolled in.

Daley launches his third Olympic campaign on Monday and is hoping for overcast skies above the open-air Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre. "I am ready for any kind of weather,” the 22-year-old said ahead of the 10 metres synchronised event that he and partner Dan Goodfellow are set to compete in. “We have trained in rain, trained in wind, cloud, sun, you name it.

"I prefer it to be a little bit cloudy because it's not as bright and you can open your eyes a bit more, rather than squinting. To be honest, I would quite like it to rain and a lot of people don't like the rain. I’m ready for it. I’m British and used to the rain."

On Sunday it was more British weather than Brazilian by late afternoon, more Plymouth than Ipanema, so Daley may get his wish.

Either way weather-wise, there will be nerves on the board despite this being Daley’s third Olympics. "Every time you're up on 10m it's not exactly like a walk in the park,” he said. "You have to be a bit scared and have a bit of an adrenaline rush, but at the same time I do feel I'm at my most comfortable at the moment."

Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow compete in the men's 10m synchronised diving (Getty)

Part of the reason for feeling at ease is that Goodfellow and Daley, who claimed silver in the 10m platform synchronised at the Europeans in May and will be hopeful of challenging for a medal on Monday, have been putting the hours in pre-Rio to the extent that his partner moved to London to live and train with Daley. They are also roomies in the Village.

"Five weeks before we left for the Olympics, Dan moved to London and was living with me and we were training together," Daley, who also competes in the individual 10m platform event here in Rio, said.

"It’s getting to the point where now we know each other well. That makes the partnership even better when we get into the diving pool. Then we had a two-week training camp in Florida, where we got some really productive training in.”

Daley’s individual event doesn’t begin until a week on Friday. "It's going to be a really tough competition," he said. "But on all of my dives I feel confident that I could score 10 on every one of them. That’s what you want going into an Olympic final.”