I'm six-foot-five. I'm not going to win the gold medal in figure skating. But I can try, and that's what matters. Trying.
It's cool when people ask me about my gold medal and they say it will last forever. I will try to promote skiing and show everyone it's not just about competition. It's about having fun with your friends in the snow. I want to bring people with less opportunities to the snow, try to use my gold medal to support programs to bring more people to the snow.
It doesn't matter who other people are saying the favourite is; I'm still going in to win the gold medal.
I don't rate Heat fans like I rate Knicks fans. We are true basketball fans. No matter what - rain, sleet or snow, or even if we don't make it to the playoffs for 10 years - the Garden stands are still full.
Well, having a pint is not going to stop you from winning a gold medal, but for me the question was 'is this going to help me win a gold medal?' if the answer was no, I'd cut it.
Everybody's going to play in tough-weather games - snow, rain, sleet - but you've got to hold onto the football.
From the time I started boxing, my dream was to win an Olympic gold medal. At 10, I can't say I knew how big the Olympics are. I just knew that every kid in the gym wanted to win an Olympic gold medal. Every kid in every gym probably wants to win an Olympic gold medal.
A small and sinister snow seems to be coming down relentlessly at present. The radio says it is eventually going to be sleet and rain, but I don't think so; I think it is just going to go on and on, coming down, until the whole world...etc. It has that look.
Everyone is getting prepared for this, to win the gold medal. I am among them: I want to win the medal.
Because winning a gold medal had been a dream of mine since a young age, I needed to empty my mind during the preparation for the Olympics by telling myself that it would be OK not to win a gold medal.
You never know: rain, sleet, hail, snow,
See you gotta accept that's how things go.
Prepare for the rainy day, or the sun's glow,
But there's clouds movin' in and the clouds gonna blow.
London was the hardest Olympic Games, and before it, I was really just hoping to win a medal, even if it was not the gold medal. At the same time, I have my next target. I am not settling for three golds in a row. I now want to try for a fourth.
We're talking about the Olympics. We're talking about trying to win the gold medal. All of these things can be overwhelming. But regardless of whether I win a gold medal or never compete again, I just have to trust that God has a plan for my life and I'm called to be His representative through the sport and outside of the sport.
Meaning is found not in the rewards, for they are only tokens. Seek not to have the gold medal. Instead, seek to be the person who can win the gold medal. It is in the quest that you'll find the fulfillment which the reward represents.
I was told that there are about 900 gold medal winners in American Olympic history. When I thought about the number 900, I wondered how many kids that are influenced by a gold medal ever get to see a gold medal. What I thought was really neat was that I've already had a couple hundred kids touch my gold medal.