About Daley Thompson
Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson, (born 30 July 1958) is an English former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times. He was unbeaten in competition for nine years. With four world records, two Olympic gold medals, three Commonwealth titles and wins in the World and European Championships, Thompson is considered by many to be the greatest decathlete of all time, and was described in The Independent as "the world's greatest all-round athlete." His autobiography, Daley: Olympic Superstar, was published in 2024. == Early life and education == Thompson was born in Notting Hill, London, the second son of a British Nigerian father, Frank Thompson, who ran a minicab firm, and Scottish mother, Lydia, from Dundee. When Thompson was six, his father left home. At seven years old, Lydia sent Thompson to Farney Close Boarding School, Bolney, Sussex, which he described as "a place for troubled children". When Thompson was eleven or twelve, his father was shot dead in Streatham by the husband of a woman whom the father and a friend had dropped off. Thompson's forename is a contraction of Ayodelé, a Yoruba word meaning "joy comes home". Thompson's first ambition was to become a professional footballer, but he later switched his interests to athletics.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.