JOIN US Not for the first time, British diving posterboy Tom Daley disagreed on Friday with his Russian performance director Alexei Evangulov on handling the pressure of a home Olympics.
This time, however, there was no ill-feeling between the pair. Evangulov caused a stir before a test event in February when he said Daley was in danger of failing to achieve his potential and becoming the sport's answer to former tennis glamour girl Anna Kournikova.
He also warned that the teenager's media appearances could sink his hopes. On Friday, full of praise, he assured reporters that Daley was perfectly prepared for the competition.
"There is no word pressure in our vocabulary. Responsibility, yes," he declared.
Daley disproved that, having more problem answering a question from left-field about the importance of personal grooming than in locating the P word. "Pressure isn't a bad thing," grinned the 18-year-old whose face has become one of the most familiar to Britons in the run-up to the Games.
"I quite like pressure going into a competition...in a competition divers either handle pressure or they don't. I've had pressure going into competitions for a long time now and it's something I've been able to get used to."