I would be disappointed if I were remembered as a runner because I feelthat my contribution to the youth of America has far exceeded the woman who was the Olympic champion

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I tell them that the most important aspect is to be yourself and have confidence in yourself.

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The triumph can't be had without the struggle.

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Black women . . . work because their husbands can't make enough money at their jobs to keep everything going. . . . They don't go to work to find fulfillment, or adventure, or glamour and romance, like so many white women think they are doing. Black women work out of necessity.

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My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.

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I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.

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I can't' are two words that have never been in my vocabulary. I believe in me more than anything in this world.

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I believe in me more than anything in this world.

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The triumph can't be had without the struggle. And I know what struggle is. I have spent a lifetime trying to share what it has meant to be a woman first in the world of sports so that other young women have a chance to reach their dreams.

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I don't consciously try to be a role model, so I don't know if I am or not. That's for other people to decide.

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