I was unable to walk for a whole week after that, so much did the race take out of me. But it was the most pleasant exhaustion I have ever known.

To boast of a performance which I cannot beat is merely stupid vanity. And if I can beat it that means there is nothing special about it. What has passed is already finished with. What I find more interesting is what is still to come.

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.

There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race.

If you come to think of it, you never see deer, dogs and rabbits worrying about their menus and yet they run much faster than humans.

It is not necessary to smile and make a wonderful impression on the judges.

The athlete of today is not an athlete alone. He's the center of a team - doctors, scientists, coaches, agents and so on.