NEWS » pe.Canadas offensive depth has been

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Four years ago Tom Daley wanted to walk away from diving.I couldnt see past 2012 -- that was it, that was everything I had been gearing up towards, Britains Daley told a press conference on Thursday.It was London 2012, London 2012, and it got to the point where it came and went, and suddenly you are thinking What happens next? I never wanted to step up on a diving board again.One of the poster boys of the previous Olympics in his home country, where he won bronze in the individual 10m competition, he had become tired of the sport that had taken him to two Games and instead he wanted to escape from its rigours.But here he was standing, grinning as he talked to the media in the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park. It was a hubbub of activity behind him with divers of all nationalities going off the different height boards while various synchronised swimmers went through routines in the water to an orchestral version of Smooth Criminal.Daley, now 22, looked at home; his excitement was palpable ahead of his first dive on Monday. For British interests in the Games as he looks for medals in the mens synchronized 10m platform and then individual 10m platform, he is right up there but pressure is no longer a problem.He now embraces it and channels it to help guide his teammates while finding an inner peace coupled with a ruthless focus. This was not the case after London 2012.He looked outside of diving for a release -- January 2013 saw the broadcasting of his television show Splash! in the United Kingdom -- but he needed a complete break and the tricep injury sustained in the 2013 Barcelona FINA World Championships gave him the necessary excuse to get away from the sport.?He was given the summer off; he went travelling, enjoyed being a teenager and came back refocused on his sport. He had learned to embrace life outside of diving rather than push it back for fear of it being a distraction.December 2013 saw him announce his relationship with his now-fiancé, the Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and by the New Year he had moved from Plymouth into an apartment overlooking Londons Olympic Park.He also changed coach to Zimbabwe-born Jane Figueiredo, bidding an emotional farewell to Andy Banks who had coached him from eight years old, and since Sept. 2014 hes been teetotal.The swap to Figueiredo was a masterstroke as she saw that to keep Daleys active mind focused on diving, they needed to bring in new training methods.Ive been doing all sorts, Daley said. Any type of exercise you can imagine Ive been doing it.Jane wants me to do kick-boxing. I do ballet, I do spin classes. We do weight training, gymnastics, trampolining, pilates, yoga, plyometrics stuff. Anything you can imagine weve tried, because we want to make sure were athletes for not just in the diving pool.He also listens to hypnosis tapes for 10 minutes every morning via an app, and has started Spanish lessons. His teammates have noticed a change -- Tonia Couch, who was in the Team GB squad alongside Daley in Beijing and London, said: I wouldnt even look at him and think there was pressure on him. Hes so cool. Hes diving amazingly and its the best Ive seen him.British divings performance director Alexei Evanguluv, who was previously critical in 2012 of Daleys commercial interests, feels the same.Hes become such a professional athlete in comparison with the last quadrennial, said Evanguluv. He was a young boy; he was more excited rather than professional and focusing. He is readier now than he has ever been before.Come Monday, Daleys third Olympics will get underway. When he stands on the 10m platform for his synchronized dive alongside his flatmate Dan Goodfellow, hell be in a good place.Going into Beijing I was 14-years-old. I guess I didnt really know ... I knew what the Olympics were, obviously, but I went into it thinking, Ah, its another competition. A 14-year-old doesnt really think about the scale of things and whos watching and how big it is.Going into 2012 there was a lot of pressure with it being a home Games. I had a lot more difficult dives, there was a lot going on and I had to deal with lots of things.Then going into this Olympic Games I feel Im at my most consistent, my most ready, physically, psychologically, everything.He heads into the Games encouraged by the gold medals he won at the 2015 World Championships in the team event and the double haul at this years European Championships.In the stands watching him here in Rio will be his mother, his two brothers, his fiancé and grandparents. And looking down on him will be his late father Rob. Hell be going for gold for all of them.It was always our dream to win an Olympic gold medal and to do it for my dad would be absolutely amazing. Its not just me standing up on that board, its everyone around me: coaches, friends, family, support staff, everyone that gets you to that point.Im ready to go there, put up a fight against those Chinese divers to try to take away the gold medal. Cheap Custom Jerseys Free Shipping . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. Wholesale Custom Shirts . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. 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TORONTO -- One by one, the Canadian players strolled into the media room at Air Canada Centre on Thursday afternoon for an off-day availability at the World Cup of Hockey.The teams semifinal opponent had yet to be decided so questions and answers were broad in nature. There was talk about the process, doing the little things right, and sticking to what has worked in three straight round-robin victories.The Canadians have been playing so well, it really seems as if it is up to the opposition -- it ended up being Russia in the semifinals -- to figure out a way to beat them rather than the opposite.That went unsaid Thursday, but the numbers speak for themselves.Canada (3-0-0) is the only team with a perfect record. It has allowed just three goals overall, controlled the play for extended stretches and is averaging almost five goals and over 43 shots a game.The Russians were in control of their own destiny entering play against Finland on Thursday. A 3-0 victory assured them of second place in Group B and eliminated North America, the speedy squad of players age 23-and-under from Canada and the United States.There are several reasons why the reigning Olympic and World Cup champions are favored to win again. Canadas goaltending has been strong, the team rolls four strong lines and the defense is tight.The Russians, meanwhile, have a solid netminder in Sergei Bobrovsky and are anchored up front by forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. There will be no shortage of motivation on Saturday night for a team eager to eliminate Canada on home ice.The opportunity is huge, Ovechkin said. They have a pretty good team with solid players. We just have to match it.The Canada-Russia semifinal offers a renewal of a classic hockkey rivalry, though fans will likely be disappointed they wont get to see the Canadians take on the highly skilled young guns on North America.ddddddddddddIt made no difference to Team Canada.Were more focused on playing our game, our system, Canadian forward Brad Marchand said. You might have to tweak a couple things here and there but for the most part, were more concerned about how we play. Our style, how our effort is. Just working hard and normally when you do that, good things can happen.Head coach Mike Babcock said his lineup will be announced after practice Friday. Ryan Getzlaf, Shea Weber and Carey Price are good bets to return after getting a rest Wednesday night in a 4-1 win over Team Europe.Canadas offensive depth has been on display throughout the tournament.The top line of captain Sidney Crosby, Marchand and Patrice Bergeron shone in a 6-0 rout of the Czech Republic last Saturday. The fourth line of Joe Thornton, Matt Duchene and Ryan OReilly was strong in a 4-2 win over the United States a few days later.Assistant captain Jonathan Toews took a turn in the spotlight with a three-point night against Team Europe. The offense has been in top form even though star forwards Steven Stamkos, John Tavares and Getzlaf are still looking for their first goals of the tournament.Russia finished round-robin play with a 2-1 record, scoring eight goals while giving up five against.Its going to be a great, great challenge and we accept it, Russian forward Evgeny Kuznetsov said.Team Europe will play Sweden in the other semifinal Sunday. The best-of-three final series begins Tuesday night. ' ' '