Daley Thompson says knighthood 'isn't going to change my life, honestly' and recalls sleeping on floors
Daley Thompson told The Guardian in an interview published on October 2, 2026, that he had been "happy to sleep on floors to do what I was doing" during his career and that a knighthood "isn't going to change my life, honestly." He reiterated that he still trains regularly and remains active in coaching and group sessions.
Thompson recounted the scope of his achievements: two Olympic decathlon gold medals, four improvements to the world record and nine years unbeaten, and a national record set in September 1976 in Talence, France that he still holds after 50 years. He said he trained up to 20 times a week at his peak and that even after becoming Olympic champion he would travel for warm-weather training and sleep on friends' floors or sofas.
Asked about the absence of a knighthood, Thompson said: "Not really. I mean, it would be lovely, and great for all the people that have helped me. But it’s not going to change my life, honestly." He accepted he had "absolutely no idea" why he had not been honoured and reflected on the backlash following the 1984 controversy when he wore a T-shirt and made remarks after his second Olympic gold; Charlie Burgess had opened his report with the line "Bang goes Daley Thompson’s chance of a knighthood," and the Royal Family issued a statement calling it "absurd" to think Princess Anne had been offended. Thompson said of the T-shirt episode: "Would I do it now? No, of course I wouldn’t," and added, "The thing was she wasn’t offended. She was fine with it. It’s a faux outrage."
He described a difficult childhood: a Scottish mother who held down "two and sometimes three jobs" with help from food banks, and a father from Nigeria who was shot and killed when Thompson was 13. Recalling the start of his career, he said his first decathlon in Cwmbran in 1975, at 17, convinced him of his potential: "Oh man, you’re going to be really good at this." He also credited early supporters, including Tom McNab arranging Adidas shoes, saying it made him feel others "believe in me."
Thompson attributed his later financial stability in part to the computer game Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, which sold more than a million copies, spawned two sequels and, he said, wrecked nearly as many joysticks and keyboards. He estimated he made about £20,000 from the game and described the frequent fan remark: "Literally there hasn’t been a day since 1984 when somebody hasn’t come up and said: 'You owe me a keyboard'." He also noted the era's restrictions on earnings: "Don’t forget, the first six or seven years I was doing it, you weren’t allowed anything."
On rivalries and competitiveness, Thompson spoke about Jürgen Hingsen, saying their summed personal bests across the decathlon's ten events were the same but that Hingsen "was never able to beat Thompson when it mattered." He said: "Physically, we are kind of the same, but I think I competed better. I enjoyed the test more." He described psychological games he used, including raising a high jump bar to make an opponent think he had been jumping and throwing a shot put further than he had, and added: "I used to do that kind of stuff. It’s just one of those stupid things you do when you’ve got nothing better to do." He also recalled Sebastian Coe approaching Hingsen in Los Angeles during the 1984 Olympics and saying, "He’s an animal, isn’t he?"
Thompson described his present life as modest and focused on movement: "No, I live in a little flat," he said, and explained he had given away medals and trophies: "They’ve all gone to friends and training partners. I've got two families, and my younger kids, who are 24 and 19, they’ve never seen any of my stuff." He said he continues to train four or five times a week, leads Saturday sessions in Battersea Park where "We go out in all weather. We do sit-ups and press-ups and run up little hills," and still works with mixed-age groups.
He confirmed his Christmas Day routine remains unchanged: "They’re all there on Christmas Day – they climb over the fence," he said, adding, "But I don’t do that, before anybody says anything. I just shout through the bars." Thompson's ongoing coaching and regular training sessions, including at weekends and on Christmas Day, are the immediate continuation of the routines he described.
