Running, jumping or throwing, decathlete Daley Thompson was a winner
Just a year ago, Daley Thompson mailed a postcard to Bob Mathias, the only man ever to win two decathlon gold medals (in 1948 and 1952). "I'm going to get you," the card said with the jocular pointedness that is Thompson's singular way. Last week, after the two days and ten events that test for the title of world's greatest athlete, Thompson, 26, the cheeky, irrepressible winner of the 1980 decathlon, had made good on his challenge. He did not make it look easy, but he managed to make it look like fun.
To catch Mathias, chunky 6-ft. 1-in. Thompson had to clamber over statuesque 6-ft. 6¾-in. Jürgen Hingsen, the "German Hercules" who holds the decathlon world record. In style and personality the two duelists are a classic study in contrasts. Thompson the Dionysian, Hingsen the Apollonian; the fiery fullback and the shining knight. Thompson, an infectious extravert from a working-class neighborhood of London who blithely chatters away whether or not anyone is listening, treats the field of play as though it were an enormous sandbox. Hingsen performs without wasted motion or emotion, intently striking the perfect form even in his warmups.
In a running repartee beforehand, Hingsen said Thompson's braggadocio made him think of Muhammad AH; Thompson called his rival "Hollywood Hingsen" because of his Burt Reynolds mustache and his perpetual golden tan. Hingsen predicted he would win the gold. Thompson replied, "There are only two ways he is going to bring a gold medal home; he'll have to steal mine or win another event." Thompson has added an eleventh event to the decathlon: clowning around. He came to one press conference sporting a floppy hat, then doffed it, revealing his head swathed in bandages. "All this talk of Hingsen is giving me a headache," Thompson said in his lilting London accent. In their four international head-to-head contests, though, Thompson had never lost.
In the first event last week, Thompson powered his way to 10.44 sec. in the 100 meters, equaling his best time in a decathlon. In the long jump, roaring down the runway on his third try, he flew 26 ft. 3½ in., 8¼ in. ahead of the West German, and good enough to have placed fifth in the regular competition. The shotput should have been an event in which Hingsen trimmed Thompson's lead. Hingsen heaved his blue shot (color-coordinated with the German uniform) 52 ft. ¾ in. Not bad; better than Thompson's best, though not quite up to Hingsen's. Then Thompson, in his first try, launched the shot 51 ft. 7 in., a new personal record, and sported an "aw shucks" grin to go with it. In the high jump, Hingsen did what he had to do. His 6 ft. 11 ½ in. was well above Thompson's jump, and he closed the gap somewhat. Thompson cruised to a 5-meter win in the 400 meters and led Hingsen after the first day by 114 points, well ahead of world-record pace.
In the first event of Day 2, the 110-meter hurdles, Hingsen edged Thompson by .05 sec. The discus was next, and here Hingsen had to make a move if he was to stay in contention. He did.