Dubai: Former top British decathlete Daley Thompson is convinced London will far outdo everyone else and stage the most endearing Olympic Games of all time next year.
"Without a doubt I am convinced that London 2012 is going to be the best Olympics ever. It may not be the biggest Games, but it will be the best," Thompson told Gulf News on the sidelines of the Laureus Awards held in Abu Dhabi this week.
Thompson, who won the decathlon gold medals at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics and broke the world record for the event four times, stressed that a unique love for sports and overall involvement of British people will ensure the best Games ever. "We are a sports-loving nation and I just think that the entire country will be involved with the staging of the Games next year," he added.
Now 52, Thompson is an ambassador for London 2012 focusing during the bid stage on highlighting the benefits that hosting an Olympics could bring in for education and sports in schools. "The main idea is to get the people, especially our kids involved in hosting such a great event that brings together the world on one single stage," Thompson said.
"China was big. The Olympic Games were very big and very beautiful. But what China lacked, and forever whatever reasons, was emotion and interaction between the residents," he observed.
"But in London it will be different. We have the people behind us and we can be cent per cent assured of the best-ever Olympic Games," Thompson added.
During his athletic years, Thompson was a natural showman who endeared himself to the British public with his irreverent personality, notably when he whistled the British national anthem with studied insouciance after receiving his gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games. Afterwards, he famously sent a message to friends back home via a television interview, showing his medal and saying "I've got the Big G boys, the big G".
And precisely due to this aspect, he bemoaned the lack of true stars and personalities in the world of track and field today.
"During my time there were a lot of people with personality. Now there are athletes who seem to be very good but they do not seem to project their personality. And I think all sport is suffering due to this phenomenon," Thompson offered.
