Nadia Comaneci

“My mother never watched me train in Romania. She wasn't allowed, it just wasn't done back then. My training was paid for by the government. My parents were not at the Olympics with me, either. I never expected them to be.”

“People ask me what the definition of perfection, I said it's none: there is no definition of perfection.”

“The fans had become used to looking toward the scoreboard whenever a gymnast stuck a landing. You could tell they were thinking, 'Was that good enough? Would the numbers read 10.00?' The athlete was looking, too.”

“I tell people, 'Have you ever been to Oklahoma? There are a lot of nice people there that do wonderful things.'”

“I am a relaxed person. I am very happy.”

“After retiring from competition in 1981, I did exhibitions and coached.”

“Once you become an Olympic champion, you are expected to win all the time.”

“You should also appreciate the goodness around you, and surround yourself with positive people.”

“Maybe that's why I like gymnastics - because I like to fly.”

“I think gymnastics was associated with the 10. I thought that belonged to the sport, and somehow we gave it way.”

“It's like someone important is missing from a party because you can't imagine an Olympic gymnastics competition without Romania.”

“I'm very good friends with my former coaches. We speak on the phone a lot.”

“I basically have my life today as a result of what I did as a child. What did I miss out on? Yeah, I missed not hanging out at shopping malls, I guess, but that is not a big deal because you don't get a medal for that.”

“I worked hard in gymnastics since the time I was six years old until I retired at 23 years of age.”

“I had a lot of energy, and my mom decided to look for a place where I can spend the energy, because I was jumping on the couch and furniture, and I was jumping on the top of the things in the house.”

“To me, family is what is important. If you don't have it, nothing is going to matter.”

“I come from a communist country. We learned nothing of lawyers, nothing about rights.”

“I didn't know I wanted to be a gymnast; I was just introduced to the gym. I loved the place because it looked like a hi-tech playground with mats and a lot of things I can hang from.”

“I never personally complained; everybody else complained for me.”

“I was a perfectionist in gymnastics.”