Rachel Thompson lives away from the spotlight, unlike her father, whom a Times reporter once described as an objectionable, charmless, and rude sports diplomat.
The new BBC Two documentary Olympic Superstar focuses on Daley Thompson’s journey and highlights the challenges he overcame to achieve success.
Highlights
- Rachel is the eldest daughter, who grew up with Austin and Elliot.
- She was born prematurely at just 12 weeks and weighed less than 2 pounds.
- She is quite away from social media presence, keeping anonymity to the fullest.
Daley Thompson, a two-time decathlon gold medallist, grew up on a council estate in London’s Notting Hill, where he relied on food and clothes banks.
In 1975, five years before his first Olympic victory, he received his first pair of SL72 Adidas trainers.
Thompson was born in Notting Hill, London, to a British Nigerian father, Frank, who ran a minicab business, and a Scottish mother, Lydia, from Dundee.
When Thompson was six, his father left the family. At the age of seven, his mother sent him to Farney Close Boarding School in Sussex, which he later described as a school for troubled kids.
When Thompson was around 11 or 12, his father was tragically shot in Streatham by the husband of a woman his father and a friend had just dropped off.
His first name, Ayodelé, is a shortened version of a Yoruba word that means “joy comes home.”
Thompson initially wanted to be a professional footballer, but eventually, he focused on athletics instead.
Now 65 and a father of five, Thompson gained a reputation for womanizing during his peak as a sports star.
Among his former flames is Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, whom he dated in the late Seventies, although he doesn’t regard her as the “one that got away.”
Daley Thomson’s Daughter, Rachel, Keeps Her Life Private
In 1987, Daley Thompson married his childhood sweetheart, Patricia Quinlan. They have three children: Rachel, Austin, and Elliot.
The oldest, Rachel, is 35, while Austin and Elliot have a 2-year age gap.
She is proud of her younger brother, Elliot, who emerged as the national decathlon champion at the 2022 British Athletics Championships.
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The early life of Rachel was scary: she was born prematurely at just 12 weeks and weighed less than 2 pounds.
Despite the difficult start, Daley Thompson remembers it as a remarkable experience, though not something he’d want to go through again.
With the haste of time, Rachel experienced her parents’ divorce and saw her father remarry Lisa Clayton in the late 1990s.
Consequently, she grew up with half-siblings Alex and Aron in her family.
Again, Rachel witnessed her father’s separation from Lisa and her siblings, trying to set him up so they wouldn’t have to care for him.
Staying out of the limelight, Rachel’s presence on social media is under the dark shades.
It’s unclear if she shared a cordial relationship with her stepmother, Lisa, and their sons.
Similarly, it’s unfamiliar whether Rachel was involved like Daley Thompson’s sons, who were willing to set him up in new relationships.
Additional Information
- Daley Thompson’s Scottish mother, Lydia, juggled three jobs, while his British Nigerian father, Frank, ran a minicab firm.
- At seven, Daley was sent to a boarding school in Sussex, a place for troubled children.
- The Headmaster called Daley to inform him that his father was no more.
