A new season of training at the London Aquatics Centre may have only just begun but thoughts of 2016 are not far away for Tom Daley with the Olympic bronze medallist determined to make it a successful Olympic year.

Next August, Daley will be diving off the 10m platform at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center in Rio, looking to upgrade on this third-place finish in London three years ago.

Before then, however, there is plenty of diving to be contested, not least at the 2016 European Aquatics Championships in London from May 9-22.

The event will be held at the same pool that Daley not only took Olympic bronze in but also trains in regularly, having relocated to the English capital from Plymouth.

Tickets for the Championships go on sale on Tuesday with Daley well aware of the significance of the competition, which will be the biggest event held at the venue since the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“To compete at a European Championships in London, ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, is going to be very special for me. I train at the London Aquatics Centre every day, and love competing there,” he said. 

“It was great diving in London at the World Series leg back in May, that competition set me up well for the World Championships.

“British Diving is in a great place at the moment and, after the success at the World Championships, it’s going to be great to showcase our talent on home soil to the passionate British fans. Your support will be invaluable!”

The European Championships will feature synchronised swimming, diving and swimming with Adam Peaty – a three-time World champion in the latter – another counting down the days until the event.

The 20-year-old, winner of four golds at the 2014 European Games, smashed a new world record of 57.92 seconds in the 100m breaststroke in the same pool at the 2015 British Championships.

“I have great memories of the London Aquatics Centre after breaking the 100m breaststroke world record there in April ahead of the World Championships in Kazan, and I am absolutely delighted with what I achieved there,” he said.

“The past two years have been incredible and I am very excited about the opportunity to return to European action on home soil ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games,” he said.

“I'm really excited about next year and the prospect that my closest rivals will be chasing me. I am going to continue working hard during the winter to ensure that I'm in the best shape possible to compete in front of a home crowd in London and then at my first Olympic Games.

“The pool in London is fast and the atmosphere when I broke the world record in April was amazing. I am so grateful for the support I receive in Britain and to stand on the blocks in London with the fans behind me is something I don’t want to miss.”

© Sportsbeat 2015