Probably a few weeks after I was born I started having casts put on my legs to straighten them out. After that corrective shoes and with a brace in between.

There are two or three performances in your life that are absolutely on, where all the planets are lined up for you and you feel you're invincible.

The skaters a lot of times do their own hair and makeup before they compete. That was always kind of a ritual...that calming, quiet time where you can just do your hair and makeup. And then I would always lace up my right skate before my left one.

Training for the Olympics was a lifelong endeavor and took many years.

The good feeling I get from contributing rivals anything I felt on the Olympic stand in Albertville.

Searching for funds to continue my skating career when I was 17, I called the Women's Sports Foundation in New York. The intern who answered the phone suggested that I might be a great candidate for the Travel and Training fund, and she sent me an application form. I applied for a grant. With the funds I was awarded, I bought a new pair of skates and a plane ticket to the 1988 National Championships, where I achieved my highest national finish. Four years later, I won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games.

At 6 years old, the ice became a place for me to express myself. Because I was so shy off the ice, it became my safe haven, with music and freedom and self-expression. That was my emotional outlet.