There is nothing better than having a personal-best day, being in shape and pushing myself beyond my own limits.

And there is such a thing as a decathlon high. It's like a rock rolling down hill, picking up momentum. You get better and better.

Through everything I've gone through- and I've been everywhere, at the top of the world, in jail, hung over drunk - I never gave up my dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics.

As a young athlete, it was first about having fun; then it was about winning.

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 really means a lot that I won the gold medal - but I woke up the next morning expecting to feel different. I felt the same.

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.