I'd noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we'd play games where there was running or jumping.

The road to the Olympics, leads to no city, no country. It goes far beyond New York or Moscow, ancient Greece or Nazi Germany. The road to the Olympics leads — in the end — to the best within us.

It's like having a pet dog for a long time. You get attached to it, and when it dies you miss it.

People come out to see you perform and you've got to give them the best you have within you.

Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.

Although I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President either.

I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up.