Ed Balls: What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

The question

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Ed Balls

British broadcaster and politician

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

That my competitive pole vault career ended at the age of 15.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 November 2008 source ↗

Others on this question

I started my career not getting jobs, but then you learn that 95% of this job is not getting jobs, and you just have to make peace with it.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

Enrique Iglesias Spanish singer

Trusting someone that was a fake.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 August 2010 source ↗

Andrew O'Hagan Scottish author

The internet. Such potential for good and for levelling up the world, but such a quagmire in reality.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 July 2026 source ↗

Jonnie Peacock British athlete

I try not to have disappointments, because a lot of the bad things that happen in life teach you things.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 January 2018 source ↗

In a pool this summer with the children.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 November 2008 source ↗

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