Daley THOMPSON

Daley Thompson first competed in the Olympics in 1976, finishing 18th in the decathlon at the age of 18. He was the youngest competitor in the event. Four years later in Moscow he won the gold medal. Thompson returned to the Olympics for a third time in 1984 and faced his nemesis, Jürgen Hingsen of West Germany. It was a close battle over the first seven events, but then Thompson pulled away with strong performances in the pole vault and the javelin. With the gold medal secure, Thompson needed to run the final event, the 1,500m, in 4:34.98 to break Hingsen's world record. Thompson exasperated the crowd for easing up at the finish line and stopping the clock at 4:35.00. Two years later, IAAF officials reexamined the photo timer results and discovered that Thompson had completed the 110m hurdles in 14.33 seconds rather than 14.34 seconds. They added one more point to his Olympic total and he was given a belated share of the world record.

Decathlon Daley Double