Daley Thompson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s Athletics | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | 1980 Moscow | Decathlon | |
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | Decathlon | |
| World Championships | |||
| Gold | 1983 Helsinki | Decathlon | |
| European Championships | |||
| Silver | 1978 Prague | Decathlon | |
| Gold | 1982 Athens | Decathlon | |
| Gold | 1986 Stuttgart | Decathlon | |
| Commonwealth Games | |||
Competitor for  England |
|||
| Gold | 1978 Edmonton | Decathlon | |
| Gold | 1982 Brisbane | Decathlon | |
| Gold | 1986 Edinburgh | Decathlon | |
| Silver | 1986 Edinburgh | 4x100m | |
Francis Morgan Thompson CBE (born July 30, 1958 in Worcester Park), known commonly as Daley Thompson, 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. Thompson is of Nigerian and Scottish heritage.
Thompson's best score in the decathlon was 8847 points, set in the 1984 Olympic competition – a world record that stood until 1992, when it was bettered by the American athlete Dan O'Brien with a score of 8891. Thomson's 1984 performance is still the UK record. After winning two Olympic decathlon gold medals in 1980 and 1984, Thomson competed for an unprecedented third Olympic decathlon gold at the 1988 Seoul games, but was hampered by injury and could only finish fourth. Thompson was the first athlete to simultaneously hold Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World titles in a single event.
Thompson's rivalry with West German 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.
Thompson was a natural showman who endeared himself to the British public with his irreverent personality, notably when he whistled the British national anthem 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 Union Jack 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 OBE in 1983, followed by a CBE in 2000.
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.
On retirement from athletics in 1992, Thompson had periods of association with various football clubs and also had stints as a television presenter. Thompson worked as a fitness trainer and motivational speaker, as well as appearing at corporate events.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2006) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Bruce Jenner |
Men's Decathlon World Record Holder May 15, 1980 – June 14, 1980 |
Succeeded by Guido Kratschmer |
| Preceded by Guido Kratschmer |
Men's Decathlon World Record Holder May 23, 1982 – August 15, 1982 |
Succeeded by Jürgen Hingsen |
| Preceded by Jürgen Hingsen |
Men's Decathlon World Record Holder September 8, 1982 – June 6, 1983 |
Succeeded by Jürgen Hingsen |
| Preceded by Jürgen Hingsen |
Men's Decathlon World Record Holder August 9, 1984 – September 5, 1992 |
Succeeded by Dan O'Brien |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Ian Botham |
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1982 |
Succeeded by Steve Cram |
Preceded by Sebastian Coe |
United Press International Athlete of the Year 1982 |
Succeeded by Carl Lewis |
| Sporting positions | ||
Preceded by Rainer Pottel |
Best Year Performance 1982 |
Succeeded by Jürgen Hingsen |
| Preceded by Jürgen Hingsen |
Best Year Performance 1984 |
Succeeded by Torsten Voss |
| Preceded by Torsten Voss |
Best Year Performance 1986 |
Succeeded by Torsten Voss |
