Daley Thompson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Thompson was born in Notting Hill, London, the second son of a British Nigerian father and Scottish mother. When he was six, his father left home, and at seven he was sent to Farney Close Boarding School, which he described as "a place for troubled children." His first ambition was to become a professional footballer, but he later switched to athletics. He began to be coached by Bob Mortimer, who suggested he try the decathlon because one of his decathletes had chickenpox. Thompson won his first decathlon in Cwmbran, Wales, and his next competition. In 1976, he won the AAA title and was 18 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. He opened the 1980 Olympic season with a world decathlon record of 8,648 points at Götzis, Austria, in May, and followed this by winning gold at the Moscow Olympics. In 1982, back at Götzis, he raised the world record to 8,730 points, then at the European Championships in Athens took it to 8,774 points. The following month in Brisbane, Thompson took his second Commonwealth title. In 1983, he won the inaugural World Championships and became the first decathlete to hold Olympic, World, continental and Commonwealth titles simultaneously. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Thompson took the lead in the first event and never relinquished it, equalling Jürgen Hingsen's world record. When new scoring tables were introduced, Thompson became the sole record holder with a recalculated 8,847 points – a world record that stood until 1992. His 1984 performance is still the UK record. Thompson won his third Commonwealth title in 1986 and another European Championship. In 1987, he suffered his first decathlon defeat for nine years when he finished ninth in the World Championships, and at his fourth Olympics in Seoul in 1988 he finished fourth. He was forced to retire from athletics in 1992 due to a persistent hamstring injury. In the 1990s, he briefly played reserve team football for Mansfield Town and played for non-league teams Stevenage Borough and Ilkeston. He also worked as fitness coach for Wimbledon and Luton Town. Thompson took up motor racing in the 1993 National Saloon Car Cup, driving a Peugeot 106, and won his class at Thruxton. He also entered the 1993 Willhire 24 Hour race and took part in the 1994 Ford Credit Fiesta Challenge Championship. Thompson worked as a fitness trainer and motivational speaker, and was an ambassador for the London 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2015, he opened his own gym, Daley Fitness, and in 2018 co-founded DT10 Sports, creating and selling low-sugar protein shakes and sports bars. In April 2025, Thompson entered the Celebrity Big Brother house to appear as a housemate on the twenty-fourth series.

Reader's Guide

Daley Thompson's rivalry with West German Jürgen Hingsen attracted considerable public interest throughout the 1980s. The pair constantly traded world records, but Thompson always had the upper hand in the major events, remaining undefeated in all competitions for nine years between 1978 and 1987. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Thompson wore a T-shirt that read "IS THE WORLD'S 2ND GREATEST ATHLETE GAY?", which was regarded by some as being directed at Carl Lewis. Thompson stated, "The second athlete could be anybody, Carl Lewis, anybody." He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1982, was appointed an MBE in the 1983 New Year Honours and promoted to the CBE in the 2000 New Year Honours. Thompson was also well known for his appearances in commercials for Lucozade in the 1980s, and his name was used for three home computer games: Daley Thompson's Decathlon, Daley Thompson's Supertest, and Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge. His autobiography, Daley: Olympic Superstar, was published in 2024, and a documentary film of the same title became available on the BBC in July 2024. Thompson has two children with his girlfriend Lisa and three with ex-wife Tish. His son Elliot Thompson became the national decathlon champion at the 2022 British Athletics Championships, 46 years after Daley claimed his first national title. Another son, Alex, plays rugby for the University of Bath and England Sevens.

Did You Know?

• Thompson's forename is a contraction of Ayodelé, a Yoruba word meaning 'joy comes home'.
• When Thompson was eleven or twelve, his father was shot dead in Streatham by the husband of a woman whom the father and a friend had dropped off.
• Thompson's first decathlon was in Cwmbran, Wales, which he won – because his coach Bob Mortimer had a decathlete with chickenpox.
• At the 1984 Olympics, Thompson wore a T-shirt reading 'IS THE WORLD'S 2ND GREATEST ATHLETE GAY?' – he said it could refer to anyone, including Carl Lewis.
• Thompson's son Elliot won the British decathlon title in 2022, 46 years after Daley won his first national title.