I don't consciously try to be a role model, so I don't know if I am or not. That's for other people to decide.

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By the time I was 12 I was challenging every boy in our neighborhood at running, jumping, everything.

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Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.

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The feeling of accomplishment welled up inside of me, three Olympic gold medals. I knew that was something nobody could ever take away from me, ever.

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My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.

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I'm in my prime. There's no goal too far, no mountain too high.

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I would be disappointed if I were remembered as a runner because I feelthat my contribution to the youth of America has far exceeded the woman who was the Olympic champion

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I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.

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When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God, why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn't just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that.

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I believe in me more than anything in this world.

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