Daley Thompson
(1958-), Decathlete; OlympianSitter in 1 portrait
Born in Notting Hill, London, of Scottish and Nigerian parentage, Thompson won his first major title, gold medal at the Commonwealth Games (1978) for the decathlon. Subsequent gold medals include the Olympic Games (1980 and 1984), Commonwealth Games (1982) and World Championships (1983). Thompson won his third Commonwealth title in 1986. He became the first athlete to win Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European titles and hold a world record. In 1987 he suffered his first decathlon defeat for nine years when he finished ninth in the World Championships, and at his fourth Olympics in Seoul (1988) he finished fourth. Selected for the Commonwealth Games team for the fourth time in 1990, he withdrew due to injury. He retired in 1992 due to a persistent hamstring injury. He has been awarded the MBE (1982), the OBE (1986), and the CBE (2000).
by David Buckland
cibachrome print, October 1986
NPG P323
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.