Tom Daley went viral for knitting in the Olympics stands

Tom Daley was making a doggy sweater in the viral photo of him knitting in the stands at the Olympics.

After the 27-year-old diver won his first-ever Olympic gold medal in the men’s synchronised 10m platform at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games last week, he got out his needles and wool to make a sports-themed “cosy” to protect his award.

And during the Women’s 3m Springboard Final at the weekend, Tom was knitting a jumper for the internet-famous pooch Izzy The Frenchie.

Responding to the viral snap with a picture of what he was making, he wrote on his Instagram Story on his page Made With Love By Tom Daley: “For those asking what I’m making here … I am making a dog jumper for @izzythe.frenchie.”

He later shared the finished piece with his followers.

In a previous video shared on the Instagram account – which is dedicated to his knitting and crochet projects – Tom said of the medal protector he made: “I don’t normally post things not necessarily knitting related on my Made with Love page but myself and Matty won the Olympics and I thought I’d come on and say the one thing that has kept me sane in this whole process is my love for knitting and crochet and all things stitching, so I wanted to say thank you for my followers on here for following along.

“But not only that, this morning I made a little cosy for my medal to stop it getting scratched, so here it is.”

Tom showed off the double-sided design and demonstrated how the medal and its ribbon tucked into the cosy.

He continued: “It’s got a Union Jack on one side and a Japanese flag on the other and it all tucks in nicely for me to have a little pouch and carry around my medal without it getting scratched.”

The sportsman – who has three-year-old son Robbie with husband Dustin Lance Black – admitted ahead of the Games that he’d be keeping busy during his downtime at the event with his crafty hobby.

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He said: “I have lots of things to keep me occupied, like my obsession with knitting and crochet.

“I’m planning on bringing a whole extra suitcase of yarn because I’m not going to be allowed out of the village to go to the shops. I want to make sure I’m well stocked.”