For so long I wanted to win the gold medal.Then I won. I had to figure out what was the new motivation to take myself to that place again. Bryan Clay
I feel like at the Olympics I gave the best performance of my life and I wasn't rewarded for that as an athlete. Yes, my fans and my mom were happy about it, but I didn't win that gold medal. Johnny Weir
I think the biggest thing was that I was putting pressure on myself leading up to Beijing. Now I am learning how to take that pressure off and seeing this as an incredible opportunity, but not like, 'I absolutely have to medal.' Ryan Hall
I wouldn't say that there's ever been an Olympic champion that didn't deserve to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Dorothy Hamill
I've never felt that I was less of an athlete or not accomplished athletically because I didn't win an Olympic medal. It's definitely something I would have liked to have added to my resume, but at the same time I think I can look back at my athletic career and feel that I was one of the best. Mary Decker
There are a lot of guys who play in the NBA. There aren't a lot of guys who have a chance to win a gold medal, too. James Harden
Although it was a great accomplishment to win a gold medal, as soon as they put it on you, that's it; your career is over. Sugar Ray Leonard
And I want a gold medal more than anything. I just want a gold medal, so that's been pushing me forward. Alicia Sacramone
Athens is a great place for me. It is my second home. It's where I won my first world championship medal, it's where I set my world record. Maurice Greene
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. Dan OBrien
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. It was a lot of years of work, and when I won it, it was more a sense of relief than jubilation or exaltation. Dan OBrien
I always look back to my first Olympic medal in 2004 in Athens. I was very new to the sport, and it was my first big win at the Olympics.Allyson Felix
I got a bronze medal and I can't complain about that, the only African-American to get a medal in the Winter Olympics. Debi Thomas
I had already been into my professional career for six years and had not won an individual gold medal at the Olympics. There was a tremendous amount of pressure going into 1996 to get it done. Michael Johnson
I had my Olympic gold medal cut up into eleven pieces. Gave all eleven of my kids a piece. It'll come together again when they put me down. Joe Frazier
I played college soccer before I was hurt, and just to be able to jump back into something that you could be so competitive at or you can achieve, to get to the Paralympics, that's the first really big achievement that you can have. It's the second biggest sporting event in the world. To be a part of it and to get a medal for that, it's unreal. Mark Zupan