An Olympic medal is the greatest achievement and honor that can be received by an athlete I would swap any World Title to have won gold at the Olympics

The greatest memory for me of the 1984 Olympics was not the individual honors but standing on the podium with my teammates to receive our team gold medal

The Olympic Games must not be an end in itself they must be a means of creating a vast programme of physical education and sports competitions for all young people

My only focus was the Olympics because in my sport that is the ultimate Everything is geared toward that and my entire life was geared around getting there and winning gold

At the Olympics you there to do a job I feel you should take it seriously You should be respectful You are putting on the red-white-and-blue and going out there to perform for your country

The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation the kind of international competition that s wholesome and healthy an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us

I wanted no part of politics And I wasn t in Berlin to compete against any one athlete The purpose of the Olympics anyway was to do your best As I d learned long ago from Charles Riley the only victory that counts is the one over yourself