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
regret eight years
I was in the doldrums for a while after my athletics career ended in 1992. I spent six to eight hours a day training, for 18 years, and it took a long time to get over the regret that I wasn't competing in major championships any more. All I ever wanted to be was the best. But I find new projects and I keep things in perspective.
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.
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.
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.
kids natural
For kids it's natural to be competitive.
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.
people boring these-days
Most people doing the decathlon these days are quite boring, so people don't relate to them.
athlete careers people
Athletes these days are too robotic. People like to see performances filled with emotion. In my career I tried to be amusing, to differentiate myself from the other champions.
people easy difficult
It's good to be difficult to know. Too many people are too easy to know.
people answers want
I'm obsessive. I want to know the answer to how good I am. Most people aren't.
computer my-own
I don't even have my own computer.