Daley on the defensive
Diving sensation Tom Daley denied he was putting his media commitments before his Olympic dream on Thursday night amid new accusations from coach Alexei Evangulov.
The 17-year-old's hopes of a medal this summer have been questioned by British Swimming performance director Evangulov. The Russian warned Daley last week that his media commitments were jeopardising his Olympic hopes while also claiming his main Chinese rivals "trained three times harder".
It is an accusation Daley denied after showing improved signs alongside Pete Waterfield in Thursday night's synchro platform final at the FINA World Cup, and he said: "The thing with Alexei was he had an interview and that was it. He knows the amount of training I am doing and that I'm doing the right amount of training."
He added: "I'm doing as much as I can. I'm pushing myself as hard as I can go without my body breaking.
"Diving is something I love to do. I do it because it's fun and I want to do well in it. That's the only reason I'm in the sport."
Experienced campaigner Waterfield, who won an Olympic silver medal in the event in 2004, defended his teenage partner and bristled at suggestions his media commitments were ruining their chances at the Olympics.
"We didn't miss a dive because Tom has being doing too much media," he said. "We missed a dive because we've had setbacks with injuries at the beginning of the year. I think it's you guys making it more about the media. You lot keep bringing it up."
But while the pair were defending Daley's media commitments Evangulov made another attack on the teen, claiming he faced following the career path of former tennis player Anna Kournikova.
"It reminds me of the situation in Russia with Kournikova," he told the Daily Mail. "She looked pretty and made a promising start to her career but the media exposure meant she never got to be the best. She is still in the celebrity news but she never achieved her full potential.
"I am angry because nobody will listen to me. If he stopped all his media work now, I might be able to get him up to the third best diver. I don't mind what he does if he gets the medal. He can become a rock star."
