I think the hardest thing in life is to forgive. Hate is self destructive. If you hate somebody, you're not hurting the person you hate, you're hurting yourself. It's a healing, actually, it's a real healing...forgiveness.

People say, on the raft, you must have hallucinated. Baloney. We were sharper after 47 days than the day we started because our minds were empty of all the war and contamination; we had clean minds to fill with good thoughts. Every day we'd exercise our minds.

Pain is that last quarter of a mile. You feel it, but when you’re through racing, your whole body just feels elated. So the pain is worth it.

God has given me so much. He expects so much out of me.

You have to reach deep within yourself to see if you are willing to make the sacrifices.

That's one thing you learn in sports. You don't give up; you fight to the finish.

I'd made it this far and refused to give up because all my life I had always finished the race.