So Tom [Daley] and I won the World Series. That feels pretty good, especially because I feel that I’ve been carrying so many little niggling injuries through the past month.

We needed to finish two places above the Germans and we took bronze and they came sixth, so job done. And with it comes a $10,000 prize ($5,000 each), incidentally the biggest I’ve ever won in my career.

Of course there’s no prize money for winning at London 2012, just a pat on the back but one that’s coming from the entire nation and one that’s worth more than any other prize in the world.

But the problem with being a diver is that our events book-end the whole Games. Synchro starts shortly after the opening ceremony but the individual isn’t until the very end.

It’s a bit like being at school or university and having your exams start before everyone else’s but having to watch everyone celebrate finishing while you’re still working towards your final one. No drinking, no going out just training but with a very warm feeling inside.

After Athens, when Leon [Taylor] and I got our medal, it was just the same. We had to hold off the party until the individual events right at the end. So we both just felt we had to get out of the hustle and bustle of the athletes’ village and we just headed out to the BOA [British Olympic Association] holding camp for a few days.

The time’s coming closer now; we’re due to head up to the Aquatics Centre soon to test out the TV set-up.

The lighting can be a real problem and if the lights are not in the right place they can blind you or be a major distraction while you’re in the air. So we’ll do a few dives and hopefully make the right adjustments.

After that, the next visit will be for pre-Games training. I can’t wait.

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Qiu Bo prevented a British one-two at the World Series in China as Tom picked up individual silver and I got the bronze. Of course he was part of the synchro team that pipped us to Gold too.

Many people are saying the Chinese are all that stand between Tom and I and Olympic gold. That’s simply not true, there are at least six teams easily capable of climbing to the top of the podium in the summer.

But it’s true that if you can beat them Chinese, you’re in with a very good shout.

And Qiu’s not at his absolute best, like he was in setting his world record last year. We’ve certainly seen him diving better in the past and he’s not as sharp as he normally is.

What he has demonstrated is that even off his peak he’s good enough to beat everyone else and he’s still Mr Consistency. It’s not that he never misses a dive, but that when he does it’s still an 8.5 or a 9.

But what we want to do is put a bit of pressure on him, keep him looking in his rear view mirror and then anything’s possible at the Games. It’s that sort of event where if someone’s going to miss because of the pressure, that’s when it will happen.

Qiu’s a great diver and a really good young guy. He doesn’t really speak English much but knows enough to say hello, good luck and congratulations. Even during competition when we do good dives we give each other a pat on the back. At the World Series in China, when I did one of my best dives, one of the American’s came up to me and just said: “Nice dive.” Then the German pulled one out of the bag and I said the same to me. Of course I want the other guys to mess up because I want to win, but we all respect how hard diving is so we acknowledge good dives.

I had a question during a college visit last week about whether there was hostility between the competitors. I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant so I asked him to explain and he said “Well do you get stared out by the other teams?”

And I said: “What - in our speedos??” It’s not like that. It’s competitive, but friendly and full of respect.

It’s all about winning medals, so to come back from China, where diving is such a big deal, with in individual bronze and a synchro silver, is a great feeling. Of course these competitions are just stepping stones for the real thing but they still count.

I’ve given the medals to my dad, who keeps them on a wall at home. I have my Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championship medals to show when I visit schools or do functions but he keeps everything else. They’re in order by competition but all the space has been filled and he’s having to slide new ones into the gaps. If I keep on like this he’s going to have to find a new wall pretty soon – here’s hoping!

It was pretty intense out in China, not a lot of time to have any fun but we did get a chance to visit the old market in Beijing. Most of the guys stocked up on loads of electronic kit but I just got a new pair of headphones. I like to listen to music on the coach – quite a mix of stuff, from drum and bass to Eminem – but not usually in competitions, unless Tom has his iPod on then I’ll usually do the same.

Alongside the Commonwealth Games, the World Cup in London was the biggest event I’ve ever competed in on home ground. That meant added expectation and more media focus, not all of it positive.

But it also meant diving in front of a crowd who were willing me to win. And that was a major factor in helping me to a medal.

The week didn’t start so well. Tom and I were feeling comfortable in training but things weren’t quite right as we started the synchro competition. It was only one dive that we really missed, which after so long without training together, is hardly a surprise. And considering all that, seventh position is not so bad – I’d said before the competition that we’d be happy with a top six.

But the problem is expectations from others were not in line with where we both were in our diving, so it was seen as a bit of a failure. And then the media got going at Tom over Alexei [Evangulov]’s comments [about the amount of media work he was doing]. We’re used to the attention, it comes with the job but it was disappointing how much negative focus was put into an issue which wasn’t really a story at all, compared with how much reporting was done when I finished on the podium.

Less than a fortnight to go before my first competition in more than six months. A series of injuries have kept me out, most recently a back problem that stopped me from jumping cleanly or getting into the shapes I need. My body was probably OK to make it for the National Championships a couple of weeks ago but I hadn’t had enough time in the pool.

Tom also missed the Nationals, so we’re both looking to the World Cup on the 23rd, 24th and 25th February to start getting back into the groove. Of course it’s more exciting than usual because not only is this an Olympic year but the competition is in London in the brand new Aquatics Centre.

I’ve dived there before, but not off the ten-metre board and it’s a great arena. Many people don’t realise that it makes a difference because the board’s the same height and the water’s the same temperature (usually). But every pool has its own distinctive features. The colours are different, the lighting’s different and the roof too. All these things you use to help co-ordinate when you’re spinning in the air.

We’re heading down to the Olympic Park on Thursday but until then we’re in Southend, the nearest venue, doing the usual combination of pool and gym work. After the ups and downs of the past year it’s great to be diving freely again. I’m not on top form yet, but I don’t need to be. Tom’s probably the same which is where we should be – there’s still a few months to go before the competition that really matters. By August we’ll be firing on all cylinders.

Our objective right now is just to put in a good performance. The top competitors in the world will all be there – the Chinese, the Americans and the Germans are likely to be our biggest rivals as they always are. But this is first and foremost an opportunity for Tom and me to catch up a bit on lost time. I’ll update you once we’re down in east London.  

Last week I was back in my home borough of Waltham Forest in east London, going into some schools around the area promoting the London Youth Games.

The Youth Games is the biggest sporting event of its kind in Europe, it features around 30 different sports and, in the past couple of years, has seen over 70,000 participants take part.

It's a great event and a great way to get young people involved in sport. Whether they already do sport or not, the Youth Games provide the chance for everyone to have a go.

You go to represent your borough and compete against other boroughs in London so it's a great opportunity to compete for a team just like you would in the Olympics.

You pick up points depending on the position you come in your competition. This is then added to your borough's final points. Finally, there's an awards ceremony at the end of the weekend to see which borough has won. It's a fun and competitive event.

I used to compete at the London Youth Games when I was first starting out in diving. I loved it and used to think of it as a mini Olympics.

I also loved it because I got to represent something, not just a club but the area where I came from, a little bit like representing your country.

Now I do represent my country. I've done so at three Olympics and picked up a medal at one. But I started at the London Youth Games. It's a great way to try new sports and meet new people that share something in common with you, but most of all its lots of fun.

If you'd like to take part, or you feel your son or daughter would like to get involved, go to the London Youth Games website and find out how you can enter.

Good luck and all the best!

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What dives can you expect Tom Daley and I to perform in the Olympics synchro diving competition? Here’s a sneak preview

There’s six rounds of dives in the Olympic synchro event. The opening two rounds are required dives – basically two easy dives worth a tariff of 2.0 for their degree of difficulty.
For me and Tom, the first easy dive we’ll do is an inward one-and-a-half somersaults piked. In this dive, we start standing backwards and jump in the air get into a pike shape and then spin forwards towards the board.

Our second easy dive is a reverse dive piked, where we stand forwards facing the water, jump in the air, bring our legs up in front of us until they are straight. Then we touch our toes, slide our hands down our legs as we are going back to the straight position, look back for the water and grab our hands for the entry.

Optionals

In the final four rounds of the competition, we are free to do dives with no tariff restriction on them. These dives are called our optionals. The harder the dive, the higher the tariff for degree of difficulty.

Our first optional dive is a reverse three-and-a-half somersaults tucked. We stand facing forward, jump into the air, get into a tuck shape (grab our shins with legs bent), spin around three-and-a-half times, then kick our feet up to the ceiling and look back for the water.

This is the most dangerous dive we do. If you hit the back of your head on the board, you don’t stand much of a chance of surviving unless you are very lucky. A couple of people have died doing this in the past. But it’s still my favourite dive!

You might have heard me talk before about the fourth dive in our programme. It’s a forward four-and-a-half somersaults tucked. We do a run-up for this one, then jump up at the end of the board, throw forwards with our arms, get in to a tuck (legs bent hands on shins) spin four-and-a-half times and then stretch out for the water with our hands. Oh, and hope for the best, ha-ha!

Increased difficulty

Dive number five will be a back three-and-a-half somersaults piked. We face backwards on the edge of the board, swing our arms in a backwards motion and jump as high as possible. Then it’s a matter of getting into a pike shape (legs straight with arms round the back of them) and spinning three-and-a-half times before kicking our feet up at the board, look backing for the water and finally stretching our arms for the water.

Last year we did this dive in the tuck position but we’re doing it piked this year for more degree of difficulty.

Our final dive is a back two-and-a-half somersaults with two-and-a-half twists.

For this one, we stand backwards, swing our arms in a back motion and jump as high as possible to get into our two-and-a-half twists while doing a somersault. From there, we get into a pike shape (straight legs) and spin forwards for another one-and-a-half somersaults before straightening out and stretching for the water.

After those six dives, all that’s left will be to hopefully have an Olympic medal put around our necks. Simples!

And if you’re having trouble picturing our dives, your best bet is to make sure you watch us do them live at the Games.

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Wow! Olympic year is finally here. Happy new year to everyone reading. I hope 2012 is a successful year for us all.

There’s lots to do before the Games. My first competition of the year is the National Cup where I want to put in a consistent performance that will prepare me for the World Cup, which takes place in February.

The World Cup will be the test event at the Olympic pool in Stratford. I’m really looking forward to it because we can get a feel of the pool ahead of the Games.

Different pools have different lighting, colours and are different sizes, so getting used to seeing when you are spinning around in the air can take time. Adapting to the Aquatic Centre at an early stage will give all the British divers confidence for the Olympics as we’ll know what to expect.

After the World Cup, I’ll be competing in the world series. This event features the current top eight divers in the world and it will be good to see how everyone is doing this year.

But whatever happens in the world series, I don’t think it will influence the outcome of the Olympics – anything can happen at the Games. 

There have always been surprises at the Olympics. Sometimes divers that have been performing consistently well throughout the year have had a bad Games, whether it be because of injury, pressure or simply because they had a bad day.

I was diving great in 2008 but carried a shoulder injury into the Beijing Olympics. Just three days before my event, my shoulder gave up on me which made things impossible for me.

In the prelims I was in fourth place heading into the semi-final but, on the morning of the semi, I couldn’t lift my arm above my head. Regardless of how well preparation goes, I know full well you need a little bit of luck on your side too.

The Olympics is going to be very exciting. It will be a test of who can hold things together the best on the day. Anything can happen in an Olympic final so everyone will be in with a shout for a medal.

I need to make sure I’m in the finals of my events and then just enjoy the moment in my home country performing in front of a home crowd. Then, hopefully I’ll be standing on the rostrum with a medal round my neck.

After the Olympics I’m planning to have a break from diving, maybe a well-deserved holiday with my family to thank them for all their support they have given me over the last four years.

Roll on the Games!

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