I had a series of childhood illnesses... scarlet fever.... pneumonia.... Polio. I walked with braces until I was at least nine years old. My life wasn't like the average person who grew up and decided to enter the world of sports.

When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God, why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn't just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that.

Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.

My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.

'I can't' are two words that have never been in my vocabulary. I believe in me more than anything in this world.

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.

Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what has happened to your life.