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. Dan OBrien
It took me time to realize that the men who won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon are just men, just like me. Dan OBrien
As a young child, I was never a crier. I never cried to get my way, or even when I was in pain. Dan OBrien
Take pride in exactly what it is you do and remember it's okay to fail as long as you don't give up. Dan OBrien
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. Dan OBrien
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. Dan OBrien
When I was little, I wasn't allowed to put sugar on my breakfast cereal because it made me so hyper. Dan OBrien
I think what my parents did was perfect. They were strict, concerned about my safety and held me back just a little. Dan OBrien
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. 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. Dan OBrien
I didn't get a ton of interest from colleges in baseball and football, but I was outstanding in track and had the sense that this would be my meal ticket... Track was a sport where I saw immediate improvement, and I had a lot of good support behind me... and the coaches had a lot of experience and pushed me in that direction for sure. 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
You need to become more than one type of athlete. You have to be a sprinter, a weight man and a distance guy all in one. Dan OBrien
The decathlon includes ten separate events and they all matter. You can't work on just one of them. Dan OBrien