Athletes these days are too robotic. People like to see performances filled with emotion. In my career I tried to be amusing, to differentiate myself from the other champions.

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

I'm obsessive. I want to know the answer to how good I am. Most people aren't.

I'm competitive - that's what defines me - and I love it.

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.

Retiring was hard. I'd spent 15 years doing something I loved, but when you get older everything seems to go. When I started spending too long with the physio and the doctor, I knew it was time to call it a day. But I had no preparation for being retired and I didn't know what to do.

Sport and health are so important to our nation that they deserve to be right at the front of people's minds.