Daley Thompson: British olympic legend reveals how his Nigerian roots shaped his destiny

How Olympic legend Daley Thompson transformed childhood tragedy into a remarkable journey of resilience and triumph.

53 years ago Olympic champion Daley Thompson was just a child when his father was brutally murdered in the streets.

Recently, the Olympic legend returned to the scene for the first time in a poignant moment that comes just as the Paris Olympics loom on the horizon.

Thompson, born to a Nigerian father and a Scottish mother, was attending boarding school when the tragedy struck.

"The teacher said, ‘You have to go to the headmaster’s office’. I said, ‘Oh my God, have I been caught?’ And we all laughed. And he said, ‘No, you’re not in trouble for once’. I marched off and went there and they said there’s a problem back up in London and that my dad had been killed," Thompson recounted as quoted by Mirror.

The murder could have derailed him but instead, it forged a resilience that became the cornerstone of his future success.

"I’d kind of been looking after myself since I was seven years old. I wasn’t reliant on people for my emotional welfare, I just wanted to be the best at something – and I started doing athletics," he explained.

Thompson's journey from a troubled childhood to Olympic glory is nothing short of remarkable.

He clinched his first gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Games and defended his title in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Despite the intense competition, especially from his rival Jürgen Hingsen of West Germany, Thompson's performances in the decathlon—particularly in the pole vault and javelin—secured his victory and nearly broke the world record.

In a surprising turn of events two years after his Olympic triumph, IAAF officials discovered a timing error in the 110m hurdles that added one more point to his total, giving him a belated share of the world record.

This record stood for nine years until it was finally surpassed in 2004.

Outside the house in Streatham, South London, where his father died, Thompson, now 65, reflected on the profound impact of his early experiences.

"My mum expected me to be more concerned, but it didn’t feel personal to me. My life was about moving forwards, that’s how everything became. It was never a loss, it was always a learn," he said.

Growing up in Notting Hill in a council house Thompson's upbringing was far from easy.

His father, who ran a mini-cab company, was not a constant presence in his life, and his mother worked multiple jobs to make ends meet.

"We lived in a council house, shared bedrooms. My dad, I wouldn’t see him often, four or five times a year. We went to visit him a couple of times in prison. My mum, she always had two or three jobs, whether she was cleaning my junior school at 4.30 or 5 o'clock in the morning, working in a reception in an office, working 16 hours a day. We used to use food banks, but everyone I knew was the same," he shared.

Despite the hardships, Thompson credits his heritage with instilling in him the toughness needed to overcome adversity.

The resilience not only shaped his athletic career but also influenced his approach to fatherhood.

Unlike his own childhood, Thompson chose not to send his five children to boarding school at a young age.

"I wouldn’t have sent my kids to boarding school at that age."

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