Quotes by Daley Thompson

About Daley Thompson:

Francis Morgan Ayodélé "Daley" Thompson 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.
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The decathlon takes so long to learn that people who are good athletes don't want to go back to the beginning again.

Daley Thompson

We crave instant success these days. If you are a really good sprinter and long jumper, you don't want to spend two or three years on a whole new set of events. You're used to doing well and it's difficult to give that up.

Daley Thompson

If you work hard in real life, people tend to get in your way - either from inertia or prejudice - and they stop you achieving things. It's the worst thing about real life compared with sports, where you generally get what you deserve: if you're the ...

Daley Thompson

Being a decathlete is like having ten girlfriends. You have to love them all, and you can't afford losing one.

Daley Thompson

I'm competitive - that's what defines me - and I love it.

Daley Thompson

But if kids take up things like hockey and football they will go back to it.

Daley Thompson

Most people doing the decathlon these days are quite boring, so people don't relate to them.

Daley Thompson

Sometimes you have to resist working on your strengths in favour of your weaknesses. The decathlon requires a wide range of skills.

Daley Thompson

I wouldn't swap the era I competed in for anything, not a day of it. I started out as an amateur, and people like myself, Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Cram, Tessa Sanderson and the rest did it for the glory of winning medals for our country.

Daley Thompson

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.'

Daley Thompson

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.

Daley Thompson

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.

Daley Thompson

For kids it's natural to be competitive.

Daley Thompson

When I lost my decathlon world record I took it like a man. I only cried for ten hours.

Daley Thompson

Ever since I was a kid, whatever situation I was presented with, I always made the most of it.

Daley Thompson

I am only about winning and getting better.

Daley Thompson

Having the ambition of becoming Olympic champion is a whole different ambition from wanting to be the greatest.

Daley Thompson

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.

Daley Thompson

If you're not in it you can't win it.

Daley Thompson

The stopwatch doesn't lie. The tape measure doesn't lie.

Daley Thompson

I don't even have my own computer.

Daley Thompson

Author Bio

  • NameDaley Thompson
  • DescriptionBritish decathlete
  • BornJuly 30, 1958
  • CountryUnited Kingdom
  • ProfessionSportsperson