Dan O'Brien

“There is nothing better than having a personal-best day, being in shape and pushing myself beyond my own limits.”

“I was playing little league baseball when Bruce Jenner was winning the gold, but I don't think I was really paying attention at that time. It wasn't until 1980 - I think I was 12 years old - that I thought, 'Wow that's what I want to do. I want to be on the Olympic team.'”

“I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a juggler; you have ten balls and you're trying to get them all in the air at the same time.”

“As athletes, we're defined by what we've accomplished. Those are what most people remember and what you get paid for. But I learned more from my failures than from all of my successes put together - failures as an athlete and as a person.”

“I call myself a chameleon.”

“As a young child, I was never a crier. I never cried to get my way, or even when I was in pain.”

“Try everything, because you're never sure what you're going to be great at.”

“Through everything I've gone through- and I've been everywhere, at the top of the world, in jail, hung over drunk - I never gave up my dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics.”

“You have to be able to be a good loser. You have to be okay knowing you're going to fail every day in something without getting mad and upset.”

“It really means a lot that I won the gold medal - but I woke up the next morning expecting to feel different. I felt the same.”

“When first starting to work with someone you try to get them in the same mindset that you were in when you were successful, and I realized the best thing you can ever do is realize that they are not you. They have a different persona and mindset, and you have to figure out what works best within your communication with that athlete.”

“I just love playing so much, competing so much. You're able to put your losses behind you. One of the greatest attributes a decathlete can have is the ability to forget... to look ahead, not behind.”

“As a young athlete, it was first about having fun; then it was about winning.”

“When I was little, I wasn't allowed to put sugar on my breakfast cereal because it made me so hyper.”

“I got interested in decathlon because a coach that I had was a big fan of Bruce Jenner, and he just saw the ability in me - but when it came down to it, I knew my best chance at a college scholarship would be in track and field.”

“Take pride in exactly what it is you do and remember it's okay to fail as long as you don't give up.”

“Breaking the world record in '92 was a very special personal moment, but I'd say my favorite moment as a decathlete was winning the Olympic gold medal.”

“I've always had to have some kind of failure before I was successful.”

“And there is such a thing as a decathlon high. It's like a rock rolling down hill, picking up momentum. You get better and better.”

“The decathlon includes ten separate events and they all matter. You can't work on just one of them.”