I tell them that the most important aspect is to be yourself and have confidence in yourself.

But when you come from a large, wonderful family, there's always a way to achieve your goals.

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.

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

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

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.

By the time I was 12 I was challenging every boy in our neighborhood at running, jumping, everything.