Olympic gold-medallist Tom Daley was given a heroes welcome after coming to the end of his four-day-long marathon challenge, all in aid of Comic Relief.
Tom, 27, said his Hell Of A Homecoming mission had been the ‘hardest four days of my life’ after completing 290 miles of rowing, swimming, cycling and running
He started off the challenge in London and reached the final destination, his hometown of Plymouth, earlier today.
The decorated diver braved bitterly cold temperatures, heavy rain and wind to raise funds for the charity, which airs its annual TV event next month.
He told hundreds of supporters after finishing: ‘I can’t believe I’ve made it to Plymouth after all I’ve been through the past few days. It’s been the hardest four days of my life.
‘I can’t wait to just crash and not do anything for a very long time. I’m exhausted.’
He went on to urge fans to donate to Red Nose Day, adding: ‘It would make a world of difference to so many families all across the country.
‘To come home and see all my family here, as well as so many people, is pretty special, so thank you.
‘I don’t really know what else to say other than I just need to go and sleep for about six years. Thank you all so much and love you.’
What a legend.
Tom used places of significance to him across the country as markers for where he started and ended different parts of his challenge.
He started out his charity quest on Monday at the London Aquatics Centre in Stratford, East London, which is where Tom won his first Olympic medal in the 2012 Games.
The Aquatics Centre is also where his father Robert’s ashes are placed at the foot of the diving board. He died just a year before the London Olympics took place.
Tom followed this by taking on a 60-mile cycle from London’s Tower Bridge to the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake in Reading.
For the third day, he braved the heavy rain and wind to tackle the longest stage of his journey, which saw him cycle for 130 miles over 12 hours and climb more than 3,000ft from Southampton to Bovey Castle in Dartmoor National Park.
On the final day, Daley took on an ultramarathon run of 30 miles from Bovey Castle, where he got married to film director Dustin Black five years ago.
He was joined along the way by friends including Paralympic champion swimmer Ellie Simmonds, Davina McCall and ultramarathon enthusiastic and comedian, Eddie Izzard.
Tom’s journey and all the action has been filmed for a special one-hour documentary which is due to air on BBC One and iPlayer in March.
Red Nose Day returns on March 18.
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