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. Daley Thompson Read Quote
I did not want to be the best black man of the year; I wanted to be the best man of the year. Daley Thompson Read Quote
Kids have been let down by adults – we’ve tried to give them too much, we’ve tried not to impose discipline. We’ve tried to make their lives easier and, in doing so, we’ve taken something away from them. Kids like boundaries, they also like to be pushed, need to learn what failure is all about, need guidance. Daley Thompson Read Quote
I wouldn’t swap the era I competed in for anything, not a day of it. I started out as an amateur, and people like myself, Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Cram, Tessa Sanderson and the rest did it for the glory of winning medals for our country. Daley Thompson Read Quote
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. Daley Thompson Read Quote
I was in the doldrums for a while after my athletics career ended in 1992. I spent six to eight hours a day training, for 18 years, and it took a long time to get over the regret that I wasn’t competing in major championships any more. All I ever wanted to be was the best. But I find new projects and I keep things in perspective. Daley Thompson Read Quote
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. Daley Thompson Read Quote
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. Daley Thompson Read Quote
Being a decathlete is like having ten girlfriends. You have to love them all, and you can’t afford losing one. Daley Thompson Read Quote
But if kids take up things like hockey and football they will go back to it. Daley Thompson Read Quote
