"I've been gay since I was three, and I didn't want to keep pretending."

BarcelonaThe time it took Tom Daley to cross the 10 meters from the diving board to the water (1.6 seconds) is the name of one of the most popular documentaries of the moment. The audiovisual production traces the extraordinary sporting career of the British athlete, who made his Olympic debut at the age of 14. His record of achievements includes five Olympic medals: one gold, one silver, and three bronze.

Daley came out when he was 19. To do so, he disobeyed the instructions of his agent, who worried that the athlete would lose commercial deals. "I'm going to say that I would lose all my sponsors and fans and that I could more compete in some countries. I was forced to expand and I felt incomprehensible. I was gay for three years and I couldn't continue pretending to be someone I wasn't. It was exhausting and I was going to decide to leave the closet publicly. It's going to be terrifying, but The answer will be very positive. I will feel liberated and I will understand that I could live without a mask. What everyone wants is to live their life in their own way," he explains.

"I was on the defensive for too long, but I finally found my determination. I thought I couldn't keep jumping, but falling in love was an inspiration to try to be the best version of myself possible. It was the first time I realized that being attracted to men wasn't just a sexual thing," she explains.

The documentary produced by Warner Bros, Discovery and Olympic Channel, which can be seen on Max and Movistar, includes interviews with her husband, filmmaker Dustin Lance Black. It also shows sequences of Daley's memorable performance at Tokyo 2020, which earned her the gold medal, and never-before-seen images of Paris 2024, where she won the silver medal with her two children in the audience.

Before openly explaining her homosexuality, Daley had a difficult adolescence. "For a while, I felt like I was being judged by my physical appearance rather than my results. I thought no one could help me, and I felt very alone," explains Daley, who suffered from a severe eating disorder.

"Cameras have been following me since I was 9 or 10. My dad used to film me everywhere. It really bothered me back then, but it's a precious memory now," says Daley. He says that as a child, he was even terrified of leaving the house. "It was a traumatic time in my life. I would cry my eyes out at night," he recalls.

An inspiring message

Daley used the Tokyo Olympics to send a message of support and pride to the LGBTI community. After the competition, with the gold medal hanging around his neck, Daley spoke clearly about the difficulties he had endured for being gay. "There are more openly LGBTI athletes this year than at any previous Olympic Games. When I came out in 2013, when I was young, I always felt alone, different, and I didn't fit in. I felt like there would always be a part of me that would never be what society wanted me to be," he said.

Daley took to the Olympic loudspeaker to send a message of encouragement to the entire LGBTI community. Media outlets in China and Russia, two countries that do not allow gay marriage, broadcast his remarks live. "Help me," the diver said.

"I'm very proud to say I'm gay and an Olympic champion. When I felt very empowered.