Tom Daley’s tears after winning an Olympic gold medal were one of just a handful of times husband Dustin Lance Black said he has seen him cry.

The diver shed tears on the podium after he and diving partner Matty Lee won gold medals in the synchronised 10m platform in Tokyo on Monday, scoring 471.81 points, 1.23 points more than main rivals China.

Black, an American screenwriter, told the BBC he had only seen Daley cry only around five times during their eight year relationship and his tears of joy on the podium were the “most meaningful”.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Day Three
Tom Daley and Matty Lee celebrate winning gold (PA)

Daley made his Olympic debut as a 14-year-old in Beijing before finishing third in the 10m platform in London in 2012 and synchronised 10m platform in Rio in 2016.

Black told the BBC: “To have watched Tom dedicate his entire self to this for the eight plus years we have been together.

“I wanted this for him so badly and I think Tom has probably cried this (five) many times since I have known him and last night was the most meaningful.”

The Olympic diver, who has been married for four years and shares a son with Black, said at the press conference which followed the pair’s win that he hopes his experience as a gay man and an Olympic champion can inspire other LGBT young people that they “can achieve anything”.

Black tweeted a video of the speech, saying: “Just when I thought Tom Daley couldn’t possibly make us any prouder, he goes and does this.”

Rio Olympic Games 2016 – Day Three
Dustin Lance Black supporting Tom Daley at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 (PA)

The 27-year-old diver said: “I came out in 2013 and when I was younger I always felt like the one that was alone and different and didn’t fit.

“There was something about me that was never going to be as good as what society wanted me to be.

“There is a whole lot of your chosen family out here ready to support you. I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion.

“When I was younger I didn’t think I’d ever achieve anything because of who I was. To be an Olympic champion now just shows that you can achieve anything.”