Science & Tech

Olympic Twitter Threats Aimed At Tom Daley Land Teen In Jail

Published on: July 31, 2012 at 10:54 AM
By Dan Evon

If there’s one thing to learn from the 2012 London Olympics it’s this: Twitter and the Olympics don’t mix. Two Olympians have been banned from the London Games over racist tweets (Greek triple-jumper Voula Papachristou and Swiss soccer player Michel Morganella ) and now a teenage fan has been arrested for sending threats to British Diver Tom Daley over the social network.

USA Today reports that a 17-year-old in Weymouth, England, was arrested early this morning and charged with suspicion of malicious communications.

Daley, who was one of the youngest competitors at the 2008 Olympics, was a favorite, along with his partner Pete Waterfield, to win the 10-meter synchronized platform competition in London. Daley was out of sync, however, on the duo’s fourth round dive and took Team GB out of medal contention.

After his loss, Daley received several hateful and threatening messages. One user talked about using a gun while others called Daley disgraceful and over-hyped.

USA Today notes that most of the hateful criticism came from Twitter user @rileyy_69, who told Daley that he let his dad down. (Daley’s father died of brain cancer last year. The 18-year-old diver said before the Olympics that he was hoping to win a medal for his father.)

Daley said:

“I’m doing it for myself and my dad. It was both our dreams from a very young age. I always wanted to do it and Dad was so supportive of everything. It would make it extra special to do it for him.”

After reading @rileyy_69’s comments, Daley wrote on Twitter:

What do you think of @Riley_69’s comments? Do you think it warranted legal action?

Daley was obviously disappointed with his performance in the synchronized event and apologized to his fans on Twitter.

Daley wrote:

The 18-year-old diver could still leave London with a medal. He’ll be competing in the individual diving competition later this week.

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