Daley Thompson
Daley Thompson
Francis Morgan Ayodélé "Daley" Thompson, CBE, is an English former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionDecathlete
Date of Birth30 July 1958
school kids two
There were only ever two black kids at my school. I never considered myself to be 'a black kid'. I was who I was. Which isn't to say things haven't happened to me that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't black.
kids natural
For kids it's natural to be competitive.
kids years people
Kids are starting at such a low base rate in terms of fitness that it's taking them years to catch up to where people like me started from. Every little bit is making it more difficult for kids to succeed on a world stage.
kids years people
People don't want to serve apprenticeships any more. Kids expect to be paid and treated really well and all that guff before they've achieved anything. It doesn't work like that. You have to spend five or six years being relatively rubbish and put up with it. For that you don't deserve to be getting lottery money.
kids vegetables weight
I tend to eat vegetables only when I'm with the kids and the rest of the time, I'm a bit slack. But, I am weight-conscious, so I concentrate on avoiding junk food.
football kids hockey
But if kids take up things like hockey and football they will go back to it.
kids made situation
Ever since I was a kid, whatever situation I was presented with, I always made the most of it.
easier failure impose kids lives taken tried
Kids have been let down by adults - we've tried to give them too much, we've tried not to impose discipline. We've tried to make their lives easier and, in doing so, we've taken something away from them. Kids like boundaries, they also like to be pushed, need to learn what failure is all about, need guidance.
bit olympic takes
You can be an Olympic champion in 9.5 secs, but to be the greatest, there's more to it. It takes a bit of forethought and a lot of mental application.
best english-athlete
We live in the best place on earth but at times the worst.
athletes athletics bit expect extent five follow force frankly great indian pick reckon
Frankly I don't follow Indian athletics to a great extent but I do know that it has started to pick up a bit of late. Five years hence, I expect Indian athletes to be a force to reckon with.
weight shots stadiums
When you're walking into the stadium, you just say to yourself, 'the 100m is the same anywhere, the shot put is the same weight anywhere.'
games community olympics
Even if you've been involved in a World Cup, the Olympics is huge. Only the Games has the power to change communities.
athlete people feelings
People tend to like an athlete's performance, but if you don't get a feeling for the individual, you're not very emotive about them.