I don't consciously try to be a role model, so I don't know if I am or not. That's for other people to decide.

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.

My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.

The triumph can't be had without the struggle.

The triumph can't be had without the struggle. And I know what struggle is. I have spent a lifetime trying to share what it has meant to be a woman first in the world of sports so that other young women have a chance to reach their dreams.

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.

I thought I'd never get to see that. Florence Griffith Joyner -- every time she ran, I ran.