1984 Olympics: Daley Thompson

The unthinkable was about to happen. Britain's golden boy walked to the concrete discus circle knowing that he was throwing for his life, his reputation, his dreams. It was not just the Los Angeles smog that was suffocating the athletes in the Memorial Coliseum. Daley Thompson was a man under pressure.

It all seemed like business as usual after six events in the 1984 Olympic Decathlon. Thompson had managed to build a lead over his great rival Jurgen Hingsen, stamping his authority on the competition from the start. The West German may have arrived in Los Angeles as the world record holder, but when it came to competition, there was no one like Daley.

Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd

August 10, 1984: after 1,700 metres of the women's 3,000m Olympic final, four runners are out in front. We didn't know it at the time, but we were just seconds away from one of the most memorable moments of the 1984 Summer Olympics, indeed of the whole sporting decade.

A race that had been so eagerly anticipated appeared to be living up to the hype. Yet for two of the athletes involved, there would be no fairy tale ending, more like a nightmare. It is a story that needs to be told and, luckily for a sports addict like me, it has. This unfortunate coming together has been brilliantly covered in Kyle Keiderling's new book: Olympic Collision - The story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd.

1984: Seb Coe 1500m

As Lord Sebastian Newbold Coe appeared on television yet again the other day, a thought occurred to me: How many people only know this man for his role as chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, rather than that of a world-class athlete? Holder of numerous world records in his running career, twice Olympic champion, and still a British record holder in two distances (800 and 1000 metres), Coe quite rightly sits proudly amongst the Olympic heroes of our nation, and should be celebrated accordingly. 

Beating Steve Ovett in the 1500m at the Moscow games was spectacular enough, but the back story to his repeat performance in Los Angeles is even more remarkable. If it wasn't for a very favourable selectorial decision going in his favour, the whole tale would have been over before it began.