Daley Thompson quotes

Daley Thompson is a British former decathlete and one of the world's greatest athletics champions. For much of the 1980s, he dominated the decathlon, winning two Olympic gold medals and setting multiple world records. He is celebrated for his exceptional athleticism and charismatic personality. Here are 43 of his quotes:

Sport fosters many things that are good; teamwork and leadership. (Daley Thompson)
In my heart of hearts my motivation would always have been to be the best, and I think that athletics is probably what I was built for. View quote
Daley Thompson
I'm competitive - that's what defines me - and I love it. View quote
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. View quote
Daley Thompson
What used to drive me was the fact that I wanted to be better than everybody at something. One of my best qualities is that I used whatever other people found to be an adverse thing to be a positive thing for myself. View quote
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 fastest guy, you win; there are no other games being played. View quote
Daley Thompson
Sometimes you have to resist working on your strengths in favour of your weaknesses. The decathlon requires a wide range of skills. View quote
Daley Thompson
When I lost my decathlon world record I took it like a man. I only cried for ten hours. View quote
Daley Thompson
Having the ambition of becoming Olympic champion is a whole different ambition from wanting to be the greatest. View quote
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. View quote
Daley Thompson
Ever since I was a kid, whatever situation I was presented with, I always made the most of it. (Daley Thompson)
People tend to like an athlete's performance, but if you don't get a feeling for the individual, you're not very emotive about them. View quote
Daley Thompson
Los Angeles was great fun because it was the polar opposite of Moscow in 1980. It was sunny and bright, lots of colours around, whereas Moscow was dark and oppressive. View quote
Daley Thompson
Sport and health are so important to our nation that they deserve to be right at the front of people's minds. View quote
Daley Thompson
In sport, if you want to be the best you have to compete against the best - I would much rather have come tenth and be judged against everyone than come first and be judged against just a few. View quote
Daley Thompson
I am an education ambassador, mainly working with schools. View quote
Daley Thompson
I think one of the things about being a good coach is to recognise when you have given all that you can. In fact there should be some sort of unspoken law that says that a coach cannot have anyone for three or four years - if you have not passed on most of the stuff you know in that time, then you are not doing a good job. View quote
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. View quote
Daley Thompson
The decathlon takes so long to learn that people who are good athletes don't want to go back to the beginning again. View quote
Daley Thompson
For kids it's natural to be competitive. View quote
Daley Thompson
The stopwatch doesn't lie. The tape measure doesn't lie. (Daley Thompson)
I tend to eat vegetables only when I'm with the kids and the rest of the time, I'm a bit slack. But, I am weight-conscious, so I concentrate on avoiding junk food. View quote
Daley Thompson
I didn't even know what it was when I started. But I was lucky. I found it at 16. Most people don't discover decathlon until they're 21 or 22. View quote
Daley Thompson
But if kids take up things like hockey and football they will go back to it. View quote
Daley Thompson
Even if you've been involved in a World Cup, the Olympics is huge. Only the Games has the power to change communities. View quote
Daley Thompson

Daley Thompson

Occupation: English Athlete
Born: July 30, 1958
Quotes count: 43

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