Tom Daley hand-knitted a pouch to protect his Olympic gold medal from scratches
- Tom Daley and Matty Lee won the men's 10-meter synchronized diving event at the Tokyo Olympics.
- Daley said in an Instagram video that he knitted a pouch to protect his gold medal from scratches.
- Daley said his love for sewing has helped him while training for and competing in the Olympics.
British diving duo Tom Daley and Matty Lee won the gold medal in the men's synchronized 10-meter platform event on Monday at the Tokyo Olympics.
Daley, who's a YouTuber with more than 900,000 subscribers, also has an Instagram account with more than 119,000 followers at the time of writing dedicated to his custom crocheted, stitched, and knitted designs: @madewithlovebytomdaley.
Daley said in an Instagram video on Monday that he wanted to knit something to keep his shiny gold medal safe from scratches, so he created a custom holder for it.
In the video, Daley showed the medal-sized pouch, which is designed with the UK flag on one side and the Japanese flag on the other.
"It slots in like this. It all tucks in nicely, to have a little pouch for me to carry around my medal without it getting scratched. How about that?," he added.
Daley said in the video that "knitting, crochet, and all things stitching" have kept him "sane throughout this whole process" of training for and competing in the Olympics.
"I want to say thank you to all my followers on here too much for actually following along," Daley said in the video.
Daley's sewing-centric Instagram account is filled with things he's made - including sweaters, dresses, and even cat-sized couches.
The diver became an overnight sensation after qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics at age 14. He won bronze medals at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. After winning the gold medal on Monday, Daley took a moment to reflect on the meaning of the accomplishment.
"I am incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion. I feel very empowered by that," Daley said in a press conference on Monday."When I was younger I didn't think I'd ever achieve anything because of who I was. To be an Olympic champion now just shows that you can achieve anything."