Mitcham settles on silver

Matthew Mitcham will return to Australia with four silver medals but no gold after narrowly missing victory in last night’s 10m platform final.

Mitcham, who took gold in the event two years ago in Beijing, was beaten by England’s Tom Daley in a s

ensational showdown in Dehli overnight.

The two were neck-and-neck throughout the competition, but a less than impressive final dive handed the gold the up-and-coming Daley.

“I blew it,” Mitcham told journalists at the Games after the event.

“I gave it away, which I really didn’t want to do. I was so close to winning.

“I knew if I did a good dive I could win and I knew that I blew it as soon as I did it.”

As well as last night’s 10m platform event, Mitcham picked up silver medals in the 1m springboard, 10m platform synchro and the 3m springboard synchro.

Earlier in the week Mitcham took a swipe at controversial AFL star Jason Akermanis, labelling him “narrow minded and homophobic”.

“There’s this notion that people hold onto that coming out will jeopardise sponsorship opportunities and create friction in teams,” he said.

“These are ideas that have been instilled in athletes from a long time ago and that people hold on to. Not just gay athletes but straight athletes as well.

“We really need to actively change this idea. It hasn’t happened with me; I’ve never felt more accepted in my environment and that’s from being open and honest. It causes more trouble not being open or lying to yourself because that dishonesty does cause friction.”