I knew that whatever I set my mind to do. I could do.

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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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The triumph can't be had without the struggle.

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Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.

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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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I don't know why I run so fast. I just run.

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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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Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.

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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 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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