I think what my parents did was perfect. They were strict, concerned about my safety and held me back just a little.

To me, the decathlon is its own little society and I am part of that culture.

You can only look forward to a South Dakota winter if, as with childbirth, remodeling a house, or writing a novel, you're able to forget how bad it was the last time.

The decathlon includes ten separate events and they all matter. You can't work on just one of them.

When first starting to work with someone you try to get them in the same mindset that you were in when you were successful, and I realized the best thing you can ever do is realize that they are not you. They have a different persona and mindset, and you have to figure out what works best within your communication with that athlete.

You have to be able to be a good loser. You have to be okay knowing you're going to fail every day in something without getting mad and upset.

It took me time to realize that the men who won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon are just men, just like me.