Since my mother is an extremely devoted Christian Orthodox woman, she prayed a great deal and taught me how to pray.

The time leading up to the 1996 Olympics was the most demanding and stressful of my career. The sport I had loved so much was slowly becoming a nightmare as I trained with Bela and Marta Karolyi the summer before the Olympics.

I was 26 years old when I found out that I had a sister who I never knew existed.

I had this sister that was born who was given up for adoption, and I never knew it.

Autographs and pictures do get a little old, but I don't mind if the people want it.

In my very first interview, at nine years old, I said I wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist. That was the first time I said it out loud in front of somebody other than my parents.

It's human nature to be timid in the face of obstacles, but I have learned to believe that challenges are opportunities for genius to shine. In order to feel alive, we have to accomplish things that we once believed we could not.