Daley Thompson
Encyclopedia
Francis Morgan Ayodélé "Daley" Thompson CBE (born 30 July 1958), is a former decathlete
from England. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games
in 1980
and 1984
, and broke the world record for the event
four times.
With four world records, two Olympic gold medals, three Commonwealth
titles, and wins in the World and European Championships
, Thompson is considered by many to be the greatest decathlete of all time. Robert Chalmers described him as "the greatest all-round athlete this country [Great Britain] has ever produced."
, London
, the second son of a Nigeria
n father and Scottish
mother. His father was taxi driver
who was shot dead in Streatham
when Thompson was about twelve. At seven years old Thompson was sent on a Farley Close boarding school
, Bolney
, Sussex
, which he described as "a place for troubled children". Thompson's name is a contraction of Ayodele, an African word meaning "joy comes home". Thompson's first ambition was to become a professional footballer, but he later switched his interests to athletics.
Harriers, but when he returned to London in 1975 he joined the Essex Beagles
club, training as a sprinter. He began to be coached by Bob Mortimer, who suggested he try for decathlon. He competed in his first decathlon later that year in Cwmbran, Wales, which he won along with his next competition. In 1976 he won the AAA
title and was 18th at the Montréal Olympic Games
. The following year, he won the European Junior title and in 1978 came the first of his three Commonwealth
titles. In 1979, he failed to finish in his only decathlon of that year, but won the long jump at the UK Championships.
. After a quiet 1981 season, he was in devastating form in 1982; back at Götzis in May, he raised the world record to 8,730 points and then in September, at the European Championships in Athens, he took the record up to 8,774 points. The following month in Brisbane, Thompson took his second Commonwealth
title.
In 1983, Daley won the inaugural World Championships
and became the first decathlete to hold the European
, World and Olympic titles simultaneously. He spent much of the summer of 1984 in California preparing for the defence of his Olympic title, with Jürgen Hingsen
, the West German who had suceeded Thompson as the world record holder, expected to be a major threat. Thompson took the lead in the first event and was never headed throughout the competition, although it seemed that, by easing off in the 1,500 metres he had missed tying the world record by just one point. When the photo-finish pictures were examined, however, it was found that Thompson should have been credited with one more point in the 110 metres hurdles so he had in fact, equalled Hingsen’s record. Then when the new scoring tables were introduced, Thompson became the sole record holder once more with a recalculated score of 8,847 points – a world record that stood until 1992, when it was surpassed by the American
athlete Dan O'Brien
with a score of 8891. His two victories in the decathlon are a feat shared only with the American Bob Mathias
. Thompson's 1984 performance is still the UK record.
title in 1986 but after that he never quite recaptured the superlative form of earlier years. In 1987 he suffered his first decathlon defeat for nine years when he finished ninth in the World Championships, and at his third Olympics
in Seoul in 1988 he finished fourth. He made the Commonwealth Games
team for the fourth time in 1990, but was forced to withdraw because of injury
injury. In the 1990s he played professional football
for Mansfield Town and Stevenage Borough F.C.
, and then worked as fitness coach for Wimbledon F.C.
and Luton Town football clubs. He also took part in motorsport, entering the Ford Credit Fiesta Challenge Championship in 1994.
Thompson worked as a fitness trainer and motivational speaker, as well as appearing at corporate events. He was also well known for his appearances in commercials for the drink Lucozade
in the 1980s. Thompson's name was used for three officially licensed home computer games by Ocean Software
in the 1980s: Daley Thompson's Decathlon
, Daley Thompson's Supertest, and Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge.
Thompson is an ambassador for the London 2012 Olympics, focusing during the bid stage on highlighting the benefits that hosting the Olympics would bring to education and sport in schools. He also took part in the 2011 TV series Jamie's Dream School
.
athlete Jürgen Hingsen
was legendary in the sport throughout the 1980s. The pair consistently traded world records, but Thompson always had the upper hand in the major events, remaining undefeated in all competitions for nine years between 1979 and 1987.
God Save the Queen
with studied insouciance after receiving his gold medal in 1984. Afterwards, he famously sent a message to friends back home via a TV interview, showing his medal and saying "I've got the Big G, boys - the Big G!"
Sometimes Thompson's behaviour caused offence, not least when he refused to carry the English flag
at the opening ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games
, claiming that the effort required participating in the four-and-a-half hour ceremony would reduce his chances of winning his event. He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year
award the same year. Making his acceptance speech during the live broadcast of the programme Thompson uttered an obscenity, which caused media comment. Despite this, he was awarded the MBE
in 1982, the OBE
in 1986, and the CBE
in 2000.
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
from England. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
in 1980
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
and 1984
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
, and broke the world record for the event
Decathlon world record progression
The first world record in the decathlon was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1922.As of June 21, 2009, 35 men's world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event...
four times.
With four world records, two Olympic gold medals, three Commonwealth
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
titles, and wins in the World and European Championships
European Championships in Athletics
The European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
, Thompson is considered by many to be the greatest decathlete of all time. Robert Chalmers described him as "the greatest all-round athlete this country [Great Britain] has ever produced."
Biography
Thompson was born in Notting HillNotting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the second son of a Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n father and Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
mother. His father was taxi driver
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...
who was shot dead in Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
when Thompson was about twelve. At seven years old Thompson was sent on a Farley Close boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, Bolney
Bolney
Bolney is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester, near the junction of the A23 road with the A272 road. The parish has a land area of 1479.41 hectares...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, which he described as "a place for troubled children". Thompson's name is a contraction of Ayodele, an African word meaning "joy comes home". Thompson's first ambition was to become a professional footballer, but he later switched his interests to athletics.
Early Career
Initially, he was a member of Haywards HeathHaywards Heath
-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...
Harriers, but when he returned to London in 1975 he joined the Essex Beagles
Newham and Essex Beagles
Newham and Essex Beagles are one of the leading athletics clubs in Great Britain.The club was formed in 1887 as the Beaumont Harriers but became the Beagles in July 1891. Headquarters are at the Terence McMillan Stadium in the London Borough of Newham, East London...
club, training as a sprinter. He began to be coached by Bob Mortimer, who suggested he try for decathlon. He competed in his first decathlon later that year in Cwmbran, Wales, which he won along with his next competition. In 1976 he won the AAA
Amateur Athletic Association of England
The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. In the past, it has effectively overseen athletics throughout Britain. Now, it supports regional athletic clubs and works to develop...
title and was 18th at the Montréal Olympic Games
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
. The following year, he won the European Junior title and in 1978 came the first of his three Commonwealth
1978 Commonwealth Games
The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec...
titles. In 1979, he failed to finish in his only decathlon of that year, but won the long jump at the UK Championships.
1982-1986-breaking records
Thompson opened the 1980 Olympic season with a world decathlon record of 8,648 points at Götzis, Austria, in May, and followed this with a comfortable win at the Moscow Olympics1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
. After a quiet 1981 season, he was in devastating form in 1982; back at Götzis in May, he raised the world record to 8,730 points and then in September, at the European Championships in Athens, he took the record up to 8,774 points. The following month in Brisbane, Thompson took his second Commonwealth
1982 Commonwealth Games
The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium , in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the...
title.
In 1983, Daley won the inaugural World Championships
1983 World Championships in Athletics
The inaugural World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between August 7 and August 14, 1983....
and became the first decathlete to hold the European
European Championships in Athletics
The European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
, World and Olympic titles simultaneously. He spent much of the summer of 1984 in California preparing for the defence of his Olympic title, with Jürgen Hingsen
Jürgen Hingsen
Jürgen Hingsen is a former West German decathlete who won several medals at international championships and Olympic Games in the 1980s, and held the decathlon world record in 1982 and again from 1983 to 1984....
, the West German who had suceeded Thompson as the world record holder, expected to be a major threat. Thompson took the lead in the first event and was never headed throughout the competition, although it seemed that, by easing off in the 1,500 metres he had missed tying the world record by just one point. When the photo-finish pictures were examined, however, it was found that Thompson should have been credited with one more point in the 110 metres hurdles so he had in fact, equalled Hingsen’s record. Then when the new scoring tables were introduced, Thompson became the sole record holder once more with a recalculated score of 8,847 points – a world record that stood until 1992, when it was surpassed by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
athlete Dan O'Brien
Dan O'Brien
Daniel Dion O'Brien is a former American decathlete. He was deemed one of the best decathlon athletes of the 1990s, winning an Olympic gold medal after winning three consecutive world titles....
with a score of 8891. His two victories in the decathlon are a feat shared only with the American Bob Mathias
Bob Mathias
Robert Bruce "Bob" Mathias was an American decathlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist, actor and United States Congressman representing the state of California.-Early life and athletic career:...
. Thompson's 1984 performance is still the UK record.
1987-1990-defeat and injury
After his Olympic success, Thompson won his third Commonwealth1986 Commonwealth Games
The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time. The Games were held from 24 July-2 August 1986.-Organisation and Controversy:...
title in 1986 but after that he never quite recaptured the superlative form of earlier years. In 1987 he suffered his first decathlon defeat for nine years when he finished ninth in the World Championships, and at his third Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
in Seoul in 1988 he finished fourth. He made the Commonwealth Games
1990 Commonwealth Games
The 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January-3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, judo,...
team for the fourth time in 1990, but was forced to withdraw because of injury
After athletics
Thompson was forced to retire from athletics in 1992, due to a persistent hamstringHamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
injury. In the 1990s he played professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
for Mansfield Town and Stevenage Borough F.C.
Stevenage Borough F.C.
Stevenage Football Club is an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in League One, the third tier of English football, having won promotion from League Two in the 2010–11 season...
, and then worked as fitness coach for Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
and Luton Town football clubs. He also took part in motorsport, entering the Ford Credit Fiesta Challenge Championship in 1994.
Thompson worked as a fitness trainer and motivational speaker, as well as appearing at corporate events. He was also well known for his appearances in commercials for the drink Lucozade
Lucozade
Lucozade is an umbrella name for a 6 series of energy and sports drinks, produced by GlaxoSmithKline in Gloucestershire. The former company became part of Beecham and, after the mergers of SmithKline and Beecham in 2000, GlaxoSmithKline....
in the 1980s. Thompson's name was used for three officially licensed home computer games by Ocean Software
Ocean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
in the 1980s: Daley Thompson's Decathlon
Daley Thompson's Decathlon
Daley Thompson's Decathlon is a computer game based on Konami's Track and Field, developed and released under license by Ocean Software in 1984...
, Daley Thompson's Supertest, and Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge.
Thompson is an ambassador for the London 2012 Olympics, focusing during the bid stage on highlighting the benefits that hosting the Olympics would bring to education and sport in schools. He also took part in the 2011 TV series Jamie's Dream School
Jamie's Dream School
Jamie's Dream School is a seven-part British television documentary series made by Fresh One Productions, first aired on Channel 4. In it, Jamie Oliver enrols a group of teenagers with fewer than five GCSEs into his "Dream School" - a school in which lessons are taught by celebrities who are...
.
Rivalry with Jürgen Hingsen
Thompson's rivalry with West GermanWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
athlete Jürgen Hingsen
Jürgen Hingsen
Jürgen Hingsen is a former West German decathlete who won several medals at international championships and Olympic Games in the 1980s, and held the decathlon world record in 1982 and again from 1983 to 1984....
was legendary in the sport throughout the 1980s. The pair consistently traded world records, but Thompson always had the upper hand in the major events, remaining undefeated in all competitions for nine years between 1979 and 1987.
Public Persona
Thompson was a natural showman who endeared himself to the British public with his irreverent personality, notably when he whistled the British national anthemNational anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
with studied insouciance after receiving his gold medal in 1984. Afterwards, he famously sent a message to friends back home via a TV interview, showing his medal and saying "I've got the Big G, boys - the Big G!"
Sometimes Thompson's behaviour caused offence, not least when he refused to carry the English flag
Flag of England
The Flag of England is the St George's Cross . The red cross appeared as an emblem of England during the Middle Ages and the Crusades and is one of the earliest known emblems representing England...
at the opening ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games
1982 Commonwealth Games
The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium , in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the...
, claiming that the effort required participating in the four-and-a-half hour ceremony would reduce his chances of winning his event. He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year
BBC Sports Personality of the Year
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of one titular award. Several new awards have been introduced, and , eight awards are presented. The oldest of these are the Team of the Year and...
award the same year. Making his acceptance speech during the live broadcast of the programme Thompson uttered an obscenity, which caused media comment. Despite this, he was awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1982, the OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1986, and the CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 2000.