Credo: Daley Thompson

'Athletes these days are too robotic; people like to see emotion'

I have the mentality of a winner I first went to the Olympic Games when I was 17, three weeks after my O-levels, and I remember sitting in a dining-hall filled with the world's best athletes. I felt so excited, and I wanted people to react to me in the same way I was reacting to them – and in my heart I believed that one day they would.

 

I took on the Decathlon under sufferance When [former coach] Bob Mortimer suggested I do the event, I told him, "Good athletes don't do it, so it's not something I want." But when someone from my athletics club dropped out of a competition, I was sent instead. By the end I thought, "I could be wicked at this!"

 

The Olympics has provided a big lift to the nation You only have to look at the torch relays. I was in Manchester the other day and it was pouring with rain, but there were still thousands of spectators out in the street at 6am, lining the route. We love a big event in this country.

 

Retiring was hard I'd spent 15 years doing something I loved but when you get older everything seems to go. When I started spending too long with the physio and the doctor, I knew it was time to call it a day. But I had no preparation for being retired and I didn't know what to do.

 

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 fastest guy, you win; there are no other games being played.

 

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. So what I like about [British triathlete medal hopefuls] the Brownlee brothers, is that they're old school; they enjoy a party, and it's followed by going out at 6am the next morning to train.

 

Extra-thick milkshakes are my guilty pleasure I was in an Ed's Diner yesterday and I went for a mint-chocolate milkshake, followed by a banana and strawberry one, and they tasted wonderful. I still train six days a week, and I'd rather do that and have them than not have them.

 

I believe in god You could argue that with three-quarters of the planet suffering, how could there be a god? But I don't think that way, as I'm an optimist.

 

I wish I had a pound every time someone mentioned my computer game [Daley Thompson's Decathlon, released in 1984] It was one of the first sports games. I laughed at the finished game and told the developers, "That doesn't look like me – it's a white bloke!" Still, I used to play it a lot and beat my own javelin records. I was wicked.

 

As a double-Olympic-gold-winning decathlete, Daley Thompson, 53, broke the event's world record four times. He supports BT's Art of Sport (btartofsport.com)

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
From the blogs

The Retail Ready People project means the future of the high street is in your hands

There are more empty shops on our high streets than ever before, says another report into the state ...

A changing of the guards in English football: From Sir Alex Ferguson to Jose Mourinho

The guard has changed at Old Trafford for the first time in 26 years. Meanwhile, down the road, the ...

The Fall ‘Darkness Visible’ – Series 1, episode 2

There is a good many moments in the second episode of this psychological thriller that deserve refle...

‘Vicious’ – Series 1, episode 4

The opening titles squeal ‘Never Can Say Goodbye…’. Oh Lord how I wish I could heave this series off...

       

Day In a Page

National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death