Britain's bronze boy, Tom Daley, 18, who nabbed the medal for his country in the 10m platform event despite previous harassing threats via Twitter when he had failed to place a medal on his first event, showed up at a Bristol, England shopping mall on Thursday — not even a week after his victory — to sign copies of his new book, My Story, which follows his diving success since he started at the age of seven, his rise to fame after being the youngest competitor to participate in a final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the tragic loss of his father last year.
Some fans of Daley camped out overnight in abhorrent weather to get their copy of My Story signed by the new British Olympic medalist, and the line was so long that organizers, who had told people to only show up an hour before the signing, had to close it down and turn people away.
"Not once did I ever think that that was going to happen, so it's crazy, it really is," Daly said about the turnout for his signing, reports the U.K.'s Daily Mail. "It's amazing to think that people have actually camped out since before 11 p.m. last night. It's insane to really think about it, that someone really wants to get a signed book and things like that, it's mind blowing."
Daley dedicated his bronze medal to his father, Rob, who died of cancer at the age of 40. "I think my Dad would think this is quite funny actually," Daley said of the book-signing debacle. "He's probably go around, running around the queues actually winding people up, like saying, 'Oh, he's gone home,' things like that; he had that kind of sense of humor, so I think he would be enjoying it a lot," Daley said.
For more on Tom Daley and the 2012 London Olympics:
British Diver Tom Daley Attacked On Twitter After 2012 Olympics Defeat
China's Yu Yang Talks Badminton Scandal, Team USA's Tony Gunawan Loses To Japan
Ariel Hsing Is The Talk Of London 2012 Table Tennis
Does U.S. Gymnast Danell Leyva Have The Body For Gymnastics?
U.S. Gymnast Danell Leyva Slips From Pommel Horse, Team Finishes Fifth
EXCLUSIVE: Olympic Gymnast Jonathan Horton Talks Competition Day Routine
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