Olympics: Daley Finishes Last on His Games Debut in Synchronised Diving

Tom Daley's Olympic debut ended in disappointment today as he and partner Blake Aldridge finished dead last in the final of the synchronized 10m platform diving.

The competition was won by the outstanding Chinese team of Lin Yue and Huo Liang, who secured their country's 22nd diving gold medal by almost 18 points from Germany, who edged out the Russian team with their final dive.

After six months of hype and media exposure the pressure of Olympic competition told on Daley, the youngest member of the British team at 14 years and 94 days. He performed well below his best, and the duo recorded their lowest competition score since joining forces last year.

Daley said that he had not been overawed by the situation. "It was really exciting and I had a really good feeling out there and I really enjoyed myself but it wasn't our day," he said. "I will definitely be stronger for this but after diving like we did today it will make me more hungry for 2012. It was great fun even though we didn't perform as we can."

Watched by sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell and VIPs including Bill and Melinda Gates in Beijing's Water Cube, Daley and Aldridge were hoping to emulate Rebecca Adlington and Joanne Jackson, who won gold and silver in the 400m freestyle earlier in the day.

It was soon evident that it would not happen. They executed their opening dive well enough to lie in joint third place but soon slipped down the rankings as their composure and confidence deserted them.

Their second-round dive was sloppy, and after they failed to redeem themselves in the third round it was clear that a medal was beyond them. They appeared to have lost the confidence of the judges too, and ended dead last behind Cuba and Colombia, teams they should have beaten on form.

It was evident that the harmony that is a fundamental part of synchronized diving had evaporated long before the end, and Aldridge left the arena bitterly disappointed that his best chance of an Olympic medal had gone.

Daley of course has another chance, later this week in the individual and then in London four years hence, when he will have this experience to bolster him against the pressure of a home Olympics.