You owe it to yourself to find your own unorthodox way of succeeding, or sometimes, just surviving.

As an athlete, I was never really comfortable with being a celebrity.

That first peak is the best place to pause and look back, to see if you took the easiest route, to learn the lessons from the first climb. And it is the best place to examine the terrain ahead, to change your plans and goals, to take a deep breath and begin climbing again.

You can't control what the other athlete is going to do; you can't control anything except for your competition and how you execute the race or how you execute the task.

Rivalries don't necessarily mean races being close at major championships. I had a rivalry with Butch Reynolds for many years. I won all the races, but Butch was the world record holder before I came into the sport, he was extremely talented and he was the only other man running 43 seconds.

Don't shoot for something unattainable - completely outside of your nature or opportunity.

As strong as my legs are, it is my mind that has made me a champion.