Decathlon, Men

Daley Thompson competed at the 1976 Olympics when only an 18-year-old, and he finished coincidentally in 18th place. But by the 1980 Olympics he had established himself as the world’s top decathlete. He won the 1978 Commonwealth Games and European Junior Championship and was runner-up at the 1978 European Championships. Thompson’s favorite status was greatly helped when three of his main competitors could not compete at Moskva. Soviet Aleksandr Grebenyuk, who had won the 1978 Europeans, was injured. The defending silver medalist and world-record holder Guido Kratschmer and American champion Bob Coffman, ranked #1 in the world in 1979, were held out because of the American-led boycott of the Olympics. Although on world-record pace on the first day, cold, rainy weather on the second hampered Thompson’s record chances. With the record out of reach he coasted in the 1,500 but still won easily, with two Soviets, Yury Kutsenko and Sergey Zhelanov, taking the silver and bronze medals.