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Decathlon legend, Daley Thompson, was so dedicated he trained everyday; including Christmas Day!
Give 101 per cent
I think that one of the things that did help me was the fact that every time I went out to compete I thought I was going to be making a statement about myself, and I wanted that statement to be the right one. I wanted people to think that there's a guy who goes out and tries 101% and he's having a good time, but it's really serious and really important.
I wanted to justify all the hard work that I'd put in, and to justify the talent I'd been given, because I think that everybody has a talent and can do well at something. For most people it's a question of finding what they're good at.
Profile
Name:
Daley Thompson
Event:
Decathlon
Achievements:
- 1975 - Broke the British Junior Record
- 1978, 1982 & 1986 - Gold Medals at the Commonwealth Games
- 1980 - Set a world record. Won a gold medal at the Moscow Olympics
- 1982 - Broke his own world record. Awarded an MBE. Voted 91Èȱ¬ Sports Personality of the Year
- 1982 & 1986 - Gold medal at the European Championships
- 1983 - Gold medal at the World Championships
- 1984 - Won a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics
- 2000 - Awarded a CBE
Take responsibility
I think the biggest thing that I've learnt is all about being able to take on the responsibility. So if you want to be a good athlete, or you want to be a doctor, or whatever you want to excel at, you're going to have to take on the responsibility of it. That means that you have to decide that it's important enough for you to make all the contributions, do all the homework, do everything that's necessary to get you to where you want to go. So it's about taking on the responsibility for yourself.
Go the extra mile
I train every single day, and I think the reason why I had to train every day is because I never wanted to leave any stone unturned. I can actually take not being the best, but what I couldn't do is take not having tried as hard as I possibly could. I think that whenever you go into anything, and you're serious about it and you're committed to it, you do those kinds of things because you have to do the hard yards and you have to go the extra mile.
It's all about teamwork
Even though we're individuals and we go out there and it's all on what we do, I think that in the preparation and the build-up you have to get a good team around you. You've got to get good training partners, good coaches, your own doctor and physio, etc. So I think that even though we did it as individuals, we still needed the comfort of the team. You have to be able to share some of the tension, and the good times and the bad times.
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