I was in the doldrums for a while after my athletics career ended in 1992. I spent six to eight hours a day training, for 18 years, and it took a long time to get over the regret that I wasn't competing in major championships any more. All I ever wanted to be was the best. But I find new projects and I keep things in perspective.

I did not want to be the best black man of the year; I wanted to be the best man of the year.

People tend to like an athlete's performance, but if you don't get a feeling for the individual, you're not very emotive about them.

Being a decathlete is like having ten girlfriends. You have to love them all, and you can't afford losing one.

In my heart of hearts my motivation would always have been to be the best, and I think that athletics is probably what I was built for.

When we stage the Olympics it will inspire kids all over the country. A kid in Scotland or Ireland will be encouraged to take up sport.

I think one of the things about being a good coach is to recognise when you have given all that you can. In fact there should be some sort of unspoken law that says that a coach cannot have anyone for three or four years - if you have not passed on most of the stuff you know in that time, then you are not doing a good job.