Top 42 Decathlon Quotes & Sayings

If I really felt like I was the world's greatest athlete, I'd get 10 great events. But I know that's pretty much not possible. That's the toughness of the decathlon.

I like to lift and do cardio to stay in shape, so I can walk the dog on somebody, and I like to be strong, but running 10 miles or a decathlon? That don't support my interests.

I don't think anyone chooses the decathlon as much as it chooses you.

Sometimes you have to resist working on your strengths in favour of your weaknesses. The decathlon requires a wide range of skills.

And there is such a thing as a decathlon high. It's like a rock rolling down hill, picking up momentum. You get better and better.

From the time I started the decathlon, I've loved the event. I didn't know why. I still don't know why.

It hurts every day when you practice hard. Plus, when this decathlon is over, I got the rest of my life to recuperate. Who cares how bad it hurts?

I got interested in decathlon because a coach that I had was a big fan of Bruce Jenner, and he just saw the ability in me - but when it came down to it, I knew my best chance at a college scholarship would be in track and field.

The most challenging aspect of the decathlon is not the events themselves, but how you train to become the best 100-meter runner you are on the same day that you're the best 1,500-meter runner.

I guess the decathlon's never an easy walkthrough.

I called Daley Thompson after the Games of '84, when he won. He'd had this phenomenal decathlon for nine events - and then he went out there and jogged the 1,500 meters and missed the world record by, like, three points.

It hurts every day when you practice hard, but when this decathlon is over, I got the rest of my life to recuperate. Who cares how bad it hurts?

The thing I like about decathlon is also the thing I dislike: It's the maximum challenge, but also the maximum frustration.

If you're going to dedicate every second to winning the decathlon, what are you doing wasting your time in bed?

To me, the decathlon is its own little society and I am part of that culture.

There's never going to be a decathlon that you're going to have 10 events that your satisfied with. You're always, always going to be dissatisfied in something, and that always draws you back to try to retry that the next time you do a decathlon. It's like you go for the perfect 10.

The decathlon is nine Mickey Mouse events and the 1500 metres.

The heptathlon world record is nice, but the decathlon is the event. I think the heptathlon is more like a practice. There is something completely different about the decathlon.

Even though decathlon is really long, there's always something different to look forward to, which is great for mental stimulation.

The only thing I did is, I wore the same pair of socks in every decathlon I was ever in.

Most people doing the decathlon these days are quite boring, so people don't relate to them.

The great thing about this is, and not to pump my own tires, but I feel like I'm not maximized yet. I feel like I can still run faster, jump higher, which I think makes it special. Hopefully, going to London, I'll be welcomed into the decathlon community.

I could be winning the decathlon in high school, which I've won twice, yet, if my dad is in the audience, 'Oh look! It's Anthony Quinn.' And I'm like, 'Hello? Kid just got a gold medal. Hello? I'm over here.'

I'm competitive. I like to compete, and that's basically what the decathlon lets me do.

The decathlon takes so long to learn that people who are good athletes don't want to go back to the beginning again.

When I was growing up, yearning with my pals to be a track star, one of our heroes was Bruce Jenner. He won a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in the decathlon, and he adorned our Wheaties boxes. We all wanted to be Bruce Jenner.

I'm just happy to be part of the family, the decathlon family.

Speed is more important than endurance in the decathlon.

It took me time to realize that the men who won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon are just men, just like me.

The whole decathlon is ridiculous, but the 1,500 meters is insanity.

When I was a junior and an up-and-coming athlete, I don't think I looked to anyone for inspiration. I was so busy trying to improve myself and learning these new events and learning about the decathlon in general that I didn't really have time to focus on anyone else.

The decathlon includes ten separate events and they all matter. You can't work on just one of them.

If I were to compare the Olympic decathlon to fatherhood, I would say fatherhood is a lot tougher.

When I lost my decathlon world record I took it like a man. I only cried for ten hours.

Nike came to me and said, 'We're interested in the decathlon and interested in seeing if we can help you get as close to 10,000 points as we can.'

The questions to ask are, why was the decathlon so popular before, and what happened to make it fade? I notice a lot of things in general tend to follow that up-and-down trend.

I didn't even know what it was when I started. But I was lucky. I found it at 16. Most people don't discover decathlon until they're 21 or 22.

David Epstein, the author of the best book on athletics in recent memory - "The Sports Gene" - wrote to me to say that he thinks I'm being overly generous. He points out that, for years, there used to be an "all-star challenge" on television, in which the best professional athletes from a variety of sports competed in a kind of makeshift decathlon.

When Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner asked a roomful of Olympic hopefuls if they had a list of written goals, every one raised their hands. When he asked how many of them had that list with them right that moment, only one person raised their hand. That person was Dan O'Brien. And it was Dan O'Brien who went on to win the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Don't underestimate the power of setting goals and constantly reviewing them.

I would like to have a decathlon where all of my throws are really consistent and set the tone. That I'm good all-around, not just a speed and jump guy.

The decathlon is exclusive company.

Before the decathlon I'm constantly trying to convince myself that I want to do this, that I want to take myself to that place where it's going to hurt and things are going to be tough. But that's like anything - you want to give your best.