Daley Thompson - BBC Documentary

Yes I watched it Chestnut. He is truly one of our most outstanding sportsmen ever.

I'm always inspired when people achieve so highly in the face of adversity. I wouldn't belittle anyone who excels in the sports world because I know how much commitment and hard work it takes, but it has to be tougher for the likes of Daley than for example Zara Tindall (or her Mother) who don't have to worry about the cost of anything.

He was completely different "in real life" than I imagined he would be.

As a not particularly sporty person I've really enjoyed several of these sportsperson documentaries that have been on recently.

He had no encouragement or support from his own family at all. He couldn't even stay at home, he slept on his aunt's sofa! To have that level of commitment despite such a lowly start in life he was an exceptional human being.

Someone said they should show that to young people to make them see they can achieve whatever they want, but I doubt any of them have that kind of dedication.

I'm sad that no-one seems to have watched this because it's an outstanding documentary.

Hey ho. Maybe someone will see this and think it's worth checking out. I'd say it was a much better watch than anything else at the moment.

I watched it. It was good, but a little sanitised for my liking, even though I am a Thompson admirer.

It's on my list chestnut! I dont know a lot about him but he has been a great advocate for womens sports in the last few years so I have a lot of time for him.

I loved the rivalry with Jürgen Hingsen, and how they became friends in the end. This often happens with huge rivalry, it was the same with John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg. (Fantastic movie 'Born vs McEnroe' by the way).

Daley was so much smaller than Hingsen who was 6ft 7ins so it's amazing that he managed to beat him.

I watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it. He was an amazing athlete, more so considering his background and the obstacles he overcame.

I know he was character and upset some of the establishment but he was driven and had a will to succeed and succeed he did. Achieving all he did isn’t easy by any means and I always liked him and still do.

I find it fascinating how some people possess an extraordinary amount of focus, determination, commitment, resilience...I could go on....to fulfil their potential and reach their goals in life.

The effort both physically and mentally is remarkable.

I similarly enjoyed the Andy Murray programme and although in a different vein, the Sky documentary about Boris Becker was good. Focused to a large extent on his downfall, but that seemed to hinge a lot on his success at such a young age.

Great admirer of Daley. Truly remarkable athlete, his background didn't stop his determination to be the best and he was. How embarrassing at times to watch, he just came out with things as they came into his head but refreshing in his honesty. Lots of people with his background would be poor me but not him.Very good programme.

The things that stood out for me was that he was sleeping on his auntie's sofa when he first started. Yet he stayed focused. And later on he even trained on Christmas Day, now that is dedication! Honestly, how many people would do that?

And yes, he said some really quite shocking things but you have to secretly laugh. I wonder if Princess Anne actually blushed for once when he said what he said to her??? Who else would dare to say that? 🤭

Can you tell us what day and channel it was on please Chestnut?
It's the sort of programme we'd enjoy 🙂

It was BBC V3ra I ve just watch it on my iPad on BBC catch up
What a man ! I loved him then and now….he could say things we perhaps thought but what strength of character what vision what push couldn’t help but admire his strength and singlemindeness a truly truly great athlete
Still got the same smile and same mischievous nature

I wonder where he got his skill from perhaps the father he didn’t really know

I often wonder if extreme exercise wears out the joints. Has he had a hip or knee operation, does he have arthritis? I know Michael Flatley has arthritis after all that Irish dancing. It's a subject that interests me. I know someone who does extreme exercise and I keep wondering about this.

I absolutely love this Nan! He is my all time hero so I must watch this
I knew he overcame adversity to get where he did! Such a role model

I watched it and loved it. I used to adore watching him perform and was amazed to learn what he had been through. He seems to be a thoroughly lovely chap.

Yes I watched it. Very good.

I watched it, was also a big fan as a child and remember the computer games well, many hours spent punching the keys lol. I was quite young at the time so wasn't aware of the press reaction to him and the things he said that didn't come across very well. He was very candid about his own failings though, speaking about his being not present as a dad for his kids growing up as he was so focused on being the best, training etc. Really good documentary!! Worth a watch.

Thank you BlueBelle and Chestnut, we've watched it now.
Fascinating story which raised all sorts of social issues.
Daley has a lot of self-awareness and is very articulate, really interesting.

Yes

My DH and I watched this on a friend’s recommendation. Really enjoyed it. What an amazing man and to think his mum didn’t ever watch him compete!
Always his own man and stubborn to a fault. Whistling to the National Anthem indeed.

My husband and I used to go to watch the athletics whenever they were in our area. We used to go to Birmingham and get the cheap seats sitting on the bank and never rushed off at the end as the traffic jams used to be awful. We can remember when all the other athletes had gone home Daley coming over to chat for ages to the children who hero worshipped him and signing autographs always with a smile on his face. The Decathlon was always my favourite as the athletes had to be so good at so many disciplines.

I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary. To see his determination and
with no family support, that must have been a driver. Nice to see his “aunt” support him. Honesty throughout, highly recommended.

Well I was wondering how his joints are coping now and then I found this:

Daley, who lives in Brighton, says: “I try to do two times ten minutes of fairly intense exercise a day, but it’s nothing like I used to do. I’ll do ten minutes of functional exercises first thing in the morning - just squats and getting up and down from the ground, that sort of thing. I’ll use something like a rower or bike too.
As you get old, just getting in and out of chairs and in and out of the car - it all just gets quite hard. I’m in reasonable shape and sometimes I find them difficult, so I don’t know how other people cope!