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

What used to drive me was the fact that I wanted to be better than everybody at something. One of my best qualities is that I used whatever other people found to be an adverse thing to be a positive thing for myself.

Ever since I was a kid, whatever situation I was presented with, I always made the most of it.

In sport, if you want to be the best you have to compete against the best - I would much rather have come tenth and be judged against everyone than come first and be judged against just a few.

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

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.

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