The Champion Diver Who Knits in the Olympic Stands Has Panties Dropping Across the Globe

E! News -  Tom Daley isn't only winning at diving. It turns out the Olympics champion is also into crafts.

The 27-year-old athlete went viral after he was spotted knitting at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics during the women's 3m springboard diving final on Sunday, Aug. 1.

The diver was masked up and wearing Great Britain gear while knitting a pink-and-blue garment. He simultaneously showed his support for fellow competitors while also remaining focused on his favorite activity for relaxation.

Fans expressed all over social media how cute they thought Tom was for working on his craft. "Omg he's precious," one supporter said on Twitter. Another fan wrote, "This is so relatable, showing off new pandemic-era hobbies. Congratulations to you!"

It's safe to say Tom made the internet swoon with his hobby. As for the story behind it, Tom took to his Instagram Story to share, "Knitting has become my way of finding calm, mindfulness and relieves stress. I love it!"

A word of advice for all you aspiring athletes and wannabe influencers. This is how you brand yourself. Not by being the best in the world at a niche sport like Synchronized Diving. Not by being an Olympic champion at one of those events you can't find even if you have the Peacock Platinum Super Exclusive Premium Deluxe VIP Package that will includes every moment from every Games NBC has ever covered, including the bowel movement that gave Bob Costas pinkeye and Matt Lauer's hotel sex tapes. And not even by being a handsome, telegenic guy from a huge sports nation with a big social media presence like Tom Daley. You make a name for yourself with a hobby. Preferably one that is nothing short of a worldwide cult, the way knitting is. 

I say this with total respect. I have a beloved sister-in-law we've traveled with and I've never known her to go anywhere without a quiver of needles and a massive bag full of yarn. She is constantly working on something. That is, when she and her fellow obsessives aren't going to craft fairs, fabric stores, quilt camps, knitting conventions in hotel ballrooms or God knows what else. The girl is crafty like ice is cold. 

And I admire the hell out of it. Put me on a deserted island with enough food to let me survive for a year and some needles and yarn, and when you come back in 12 months I wouldn't have so much as a 2-inch square of knitting done. Never mind being able to form it into sweaters, dog blankets or a pouch for holding a gold medal:

I say again, knitting is a cult. With probably hundreds of millions of members in every time zone on the globe. No one dabbles in it. You either never do it or it's a lifestyle. Like being a Rastafarian, a Juggalo, or a meth addict. And every old lady around the world who hasn't followed sports since Joe DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe just reversed her menopause and is ovulating again at the sight of an Olympian rocking the yarn. It doesn't even matter that Daley is openly gay. He's now the biggest heartthrob in the knitting world and can expect to have every octogenarian who knows how to slide into his DMs using a Jitterbug phone to do exactly that. His messages are going to look like Cialis Night at the assisted care facility by the time the grannies get wind of these shots of him doing the Knit 1/Pearl 2 thing in the stands. Not to mention he'll be the talk of the next craft fair when all the hot Boomer moms who can't name a single living athlete will be splooshing all over the place at the mere mention of Tom Daley. 

Good on him. He's doing something creative for a worthy cause, putting a more human face on these weird Covid Games, and making a name for himself in a positive way. Years from now, when knitting devotees make him king of their world, he might be the only person anyone remembers from Tokyo 2020.