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Tom Daley takes selfies to another level with mid-air diving photos

The Olympic star tried his hand at taking selfies using the Edge Sense squeeze feature on HTC’s new U11 smartphone.
The Olympic star tried his hand at taking selfies using the Edge Sense squeeze feature on HTC’s new U11 smartphone. The Olympic star tried his hand at taking selfies using the Edge Sense squeeze feature on HTC’s new U11 smartphone.

Selfies are so common today it can be difficult for them to stand out – enter Olympic medal-winning diver Tom Daley.

The Team GB star has taken to the diving board at the London Aquatics Centre armed with the new HTC U11 to capture a new take on the selfie.

Tom Daley takes a selfie mid dive
Tom Daley takes a selfie mid dive
(HTC)

The U11 houses what HTC calls Edge Sense technology, meaning users can squeeze the sides of the phone in order to take a selfie – a feature the Olympic star took advantage of to capture images of himself in mid-air.

One squeeze launches the camera app when the phone is locked, with a second taking a photo.

Luckily, the smartphone is also water resistant, meaning it survived the drop into the pool too.

Tom Daley diving selfie
Tom Daley diving selfie (Nathan Gallagher/Nathan Gallagher)
(HTC)

Daley’s efforts are believed to be the first time a selfie has been captured during a reverse rotation gainer dive, which sees a diver carry out a backwards somersault while still moving forward.

“I love taking a selfie, so when the challenge arose to try and take one, and capture myself mid-dive, I obviously jumped at the chance,” Daley said of his attempts.

Tom Daley diving selfie
Tom Daley diving selfie (Nathan Gallagher/Nathan Gallagher)
(HTC)

It took a few attempts to perfect my dive, but after a few belly flops I got there.

“I have to say the final photos are easily some of my favourite diving shots ever.”