Tom Daley has been told to embrace the British public's expectation of him by Matthew Mitcham.
British hope told to enjoy added pressure of home Olympics
Tom Daley has been told to embrace the British public's expectation of him by reigning Olympic platform champion Matthew Mitcham.
Teenager Daley will be one of Britain's most high-profile gold medal hopes at this summer's London Olympics.
A public feud with British Diving performance director Alexei Evangulov last week, however, revealed concerns he was not on track to match the public's belief.
A statement released by Daley's management on his behalf confirmed the 17-year-old is struggling under the spotlight but Mitcham believes there is a simple answer to his problem - enjoy it.
Australian Mitcham, who is himself under intense pressure in his homeland to defend his Olympic platform crown, believes Daley should utilise the home advantage he will have in London as a spur rather than a hindrance.
"I see the things that Tom Daley has come out to the media with as far as he's not coping with the expectation," he said.
"That piqued my curiosity a lot because it is something that I have been working on.
"Expectation has been one a hurdle I've had to learn to deal with during this Olympic cycle.
"I'm expected to defend my Olympic title. That feels like a huge responsibility, but it's not when you've got the tool to be 'teflon' as far as that pressure goes.
"Rather than trying make it the responsibility of the public to not put the expectation on myself, I've developed tools where I have control over whether or not I feel the pressure of expectation.
"You can't let the expectation cloud what you are thinking because you will go nowhere.
"You have to focus on what you're doing and enjoy the fact you have so much support."
Politics
Mitcham, who at 23 is six years Daley's senior, admits he is happy not to be in his platform rival's shoes though.
The pair are friends away from the tower and while he admits he has not spoken to Daley about it since arriving in London for this week's FINA World Cup at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, he has taken a keen interest.
"It's not something that has come up in chit-chat around the pool," he said.
"But the Alexei Evangulov comments, I thought was totally fascinating and the politics going on in British sport at the moment.
"I'm feeling quite relieved that I'm not a part of it.
"But as I say I believe you have to put the onus on yourself to relieve the pressure of expectation, not everyone else.
"I love Australia's support and what they did for me before Beijing. You have to use that as a positive."
