The day Olympic sensation Tom Daley swam with sharks

When you are 14 and have dived at the Olympics in between your school homework, a date with three sharks should not prove too challenging!

Emily, Enzo and Howardine seemed friendly enough - from my vantage point outside the sand sharks’ tank at the National Aquarium in Plymouth.

More than 1,000 fish were there to keep them company, with a safety team of two scuba divers and a free diver overhead on hand to protect Tom Daley. Just in case.



We still had a brief scare as one shark eluded the safety divers and swam directly at Tom, passing within inches of the diving star of Beijing as he was treading water.

Tom’s father Rob could not bear to look. To shrieks from the watching crowd, Tom - one of Sportsmail’s Magnificent Seven we are tracking to London 2012 - dived again, blissfully unaware of the drama.



What is it they say about working with animals?

Sand sharks can eat lobsters, crab and squid .... but not Olympians, apparently. There have been no records of attacks by sand sharks, or so it says on the internet.



As Tom reached my depth to pose for his picture, the sharks became shy and retreated to the back of the aquarium.

It meant some photo-editing was required to recapture the moment a courageous young boy dared swim in the same tank as thousands of sea bream and three 12-foot sharks.

The Big Picture: Shire genius with Olympic Bronze medallist Louis Smith

The 19-year-old gymnast was only taking what we consider a modern sport back to its origins in the armies of ancient Greece and Rome, when the soldiers would practise manoeuvres on an artificial horse as part of their training.


This method of honing the legions’ skills was noted by fifth century Roman writer Vegetius. Some 1,200 years later, a military drill instructor developed Vegetius’ description into the art of equestrian acrobatics. It evolved further, particularly in 19th

century Berlin, and became the Olympic apparatus we now know as the pommel horse.

Louis had to be brave to attempt a part of his routine on Scott. This magnificent creature, from Waldburg Shires, based at the Shire Horse Society within Sacrewell Farm and Country Centre near Peterborough, stands 18.2 hands high, which is
more than six feet — some two feet higher than the 115cm stipulated for Olympic
competition.

Louis benefits from National Lottery funding thanks to Lottery players who raise £25million a week for good causes.

Chelsea defender Alex escapes FA action over stamp on Cahill

Chelsea defender Alex will not face disciplinary action over an alleged stamp on Everton's Tim Cahill in last night's Barclays Premier League game at Goodison Park.

Referee Phil Dowd was asked to review footage of the incident by the Football Association after no action was taken against the player on the field.



Alex appeared to bring his foot down on the Australian's thigh after being tackled but he will not face punishment.

A statement from the Football Association said: "Referee Phil Dowd confirmed to the FA today that he had not seen the incident at the time.

"He was subsequently requested to view footage of the incident. Having done so, Dowd informed the FA that, had he seen the incident, he would not have shown Alex a red card. On this basis, the FA will not be taking any disciplinary action."

The incident was one of a number talking points from the goalless draw. Skipper John Terry was shown a straight red card by Dowd for a wreckless lunge at Leon Osman, while Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole were all booked for dissent as the Blues were held to a goalless draw.



It was the first time that Luiz Felipe Scolari's team have failed to win away this season and leaves them a point behind leaders Liverpool at Christmas.

Scolari was so incensed by the performance of Dowd that he refused to speak at the press conference after the game but he knows he now faces a defensive crisis.

Chelsea will not appeal Terry's dismissal and he will now be banned for the next three games, starting with the home match against West Brom on Boxing Day and followed by Sunday's derby with Fulham and the FA Cup third-round clash with Southend.



With Ricardo Carvalho possibly not returning from his hamstring injury until the new year, there is a danger that Branislav Ivanovic will be the only recognised centre-half for Scolari to pick from.

To make matters worse for the Chelsea manager, goalkeeper Petr Cech picked up a thumb injury late on in the match and had difficulty taking his gloves off because of the pain.



Cech hinted that Dowd may have been influenced by the home supporters when he sent off Terry and said: 'It was hard for the ref to see exactly what happened. He had a split second.

'The crowd were behind him and there was a lot of noise. It makes it more difficult for the referee. He made a decision and we have to live with that.

'It's a pity we couldn't win. We could have been top of the league again but it's a good point.

'We have had other chances to go top but we have drawn some games. A lot of teams are dropping points this season and if we had won our games at home we could have been top with a gap.'