The Closing Ceremony's A Fresh Start For Tom Daley

British diving star Tom Daley is one of the most compelling Olympians to watch, both for his incredible diving talent and total charm. The diver was at the Closing Ceremony in Rio, and has thankfully already decided that he'll be back for the next games in 2020. The Closing Ceremony was a great opportunity for Daley to end his third Olympic experience on a high note after failing to qualify for the 10 meter platform finals on Saturday.

Though he was ultimately favored to medal in the event and even set the Olympic record for a diving score, all simply did not go as planned. A series of bad dives kept him out of the top 18 spots that moved on to the finals, ending his competition in Rio. In the end, China's Chen Aisen won the gold medal in the finals with a score of 559.90.

Before this Olympics even ended, Daley told The Guardian that he is already looking forward to the next games. "I know I could win the gold medal and I think I’m the only one who could challenge the Chinese," Daley said after his semifinal round and last performance in Rio. "To think Team GB diving has already got three medals from this games is incredible but it definitely does give me that big kick to come back in 2020."

Rio wasn't a complete disappointment for Daley — he and partner Dan Goodfellow captured the bronze medal in the 10 meter platform synchronized event. Although there may be more glory in the individual competition, medaling in the Olympics in any event is obviously nothing to sneeze at and it looks as though the 22-year-old athlete has a great deal ahead of him. On top of that, Daley and Goodfellow had only been training together for less than a year, so their stellar performance and harmony on the platform is pretty remarkable in and of itself.

The Closing Ceremony should serve as a symbol of new opportunity for Daley — now that Rio is in the past, his focus will be, and already is, centered on Tokyo in 2020. Like many of his fellow competitors, Daley is thinking about how to get back to the Olympics again, and the Closing Ceremony will be a great reminder of both his experience in Rio and his determination to make it back to the Olympics next time.