Daley Thompson

Greatest decathlete ever, back-to-back Olympic champion.

Francis Morgan Ayodélé "Daley" Thompson was born on 30 July 1958 in Notting Hill, London, England, to a Nigerian father, Frank, who ran a taxi business, and a Scottish mother, Lilian; his father died when Daley was a teenager, a loss that had a profound impact on him. Thompson made his decathlon debut at 16, winning a competition in Cwmbrân, Wales, with a British junior record, and qualified for the British Olympic team that same year, developing rapidly into the finest all-round athlete of his generation. Thompson won Olympic decathlon gold at both the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Games, becoming only the second man in history to win the event at consecutive Olympics, and became the first athlete ever to simultaneously hold the Olympic, World, European, and Commonwealth titles after winning the inaugural 1983 World Championships. Thompson broke the decathlon world record four times, his 1984 total of 8,847 points standing for years, and remained unbeaten in competition for nine years before retiring in 1992 due to a persistent hamstring injury. He was appointed CBE, and is widely regarded by many as the greatest decathlete and all-round athlete Britain has ever produced.

Exceptional all-round athlete with particular strength in running events

Revolutionized decathlon training and performance standards

• 1980,1984 Olympic gold decathlon
• 1983 World champ
• WR 4x
• 3 Commonwealth titles