British diver Tom Daley has made headlines at the Olympics for 16 years now, not just for the five medals he’s won, but also for his penchant for knitting in the stands, creating some pretty fabulous sweaters while cheering on his fellow competitors. Now, his handiwork is being honored with an exhibition at Tokyo’s Parco Museum.
Tokyo, of course, was where the world first learned of the famed athlete’s prowess with the knitting needle. Daley, hard at work at a handmade sweater, was quite the sight in the stands. The result was an impressive white cardigan, with the Olympic rings and “Team GB” on the back.
“I’d been knitting since March 2020, but no one really cared until they saw me do it at the Olympics,” Daley, now age 30, told the . “I think some people thought I didn’t care about the Olympics, that I was just knitting. Some people thought it was brave to be knitting in public, and some thought: ‘What the hell is he doing?’”
Great Britain’s Tom Daley knitting as he watches the Women’s Synchronised 3m Springboard Final at the Aquatics Centre on the first day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images.
Daley had already been a star since bursting onto the Olympic scene at the 2008 Beijing games, after winning European diving gold at the age of just 13. But his knitting won Daley legions of new fans, who were delighted to see him back at it at this year’s Paris Olympics.
He now has a dedicated knitting Instagram account, @madewithlovebytomdaley, with 1.4 million followers (his main account has another 4 million), a clothing line of the same name, and a book, , compiling 30 of his knitting and crochet patterns. A bona fide museum show will only help further spread the word of his artistic activities.
Tom Daley at the new exhibition in Tokyo, 2024. Photo: Richard A. Brooks / AFP via Getty Images.
“Over a year in the making, I’m proud to share my knitting journey back where it all began!” Daley wrote on Instagram, noting that the show would feature “some of my favorite creations.”
“If there was an Olympic gold for knitting,” the official Instagram account of Olympics responded approvingly.
There may not be a knitting event at the games yet, but Daley has done remarkably well in his chosen sport.
Over five games, he has taken home two individual bronzes in the 10 meter platform event, plus a medal in each color for synchronized platform diving, most recently a bronze in Paris. (The lone gold was in Tokyo, with Matty Lee.)
Tom Daley of Team Great Britain is seen knitting during the Men’s Synchronized 3m Springboard Final on day seven of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
In Paris, Daley completed a fetching blue jumper with his last name written across the back, and a bottom border of alternating French and British flags. He announced his retirement the day after the closing ceremony.
His passion for his crafty hobby is keeping Daley busy now that his diving career has come to an end. He is in Tokyo for the opening, teaching a live knitting workshop at the museum.
“Knitting is an important part of my life and it’s what calms me,” Daley told British craft and entertainment magazine . “Through this exhibition, I would like to share with as many people as possible the joy of making things and the comfort that knitting brings to the heart.”
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
