Click a Gymnastics Icon below to jump to their famous quotes:
- Alexandra Raisman
- Aliya Mustafina
- Andreea Raducan
- Bela Karolyi
- Bev Plocki
- Catalina Ponor
- Cheng Fei
- Daiane Dos Santos
- Deng Linlin
- Dominique Dawes
- Gabrielle Douglas
- Kerri Strug
- Liang Chow
- Lilia Podkopayeva
- Mary Lou Retton
- McKayla Maroney
- Nadia Comaneci
- Nastia Liukin
- Rhonda Faehn
- Sandra Izbasa
- Sarah Patterson
- Shannon Miller
- Shawn Johnson
- Simona Amanar
- Simone Biles
- Svetlana Khorkina
- Valeri Liukin
- Viktoria Komova
Alexandra Raisman
“That’s when I’m most comfortable: sweating in a gym, covered in chalk.”
Aly Raisman
“Gymnastics can be scary.”
Aly Raisman
“Sometimes I struggle a little bit with being confident.”
Aly Raisman
“You can’t always be the best. You have to remember that everyone makes mistakes sometimes.”
Aly Raisman
“I’ve been dreaming of it ever since I was a little girl.”
Aly Raisman
“I should be more proud of myself, but I’m such a perfectionist.”
Aly Raisman
“You can’t be successful in anything if you don’t truly love it or if you don’t have a passion for it. So just stay positive and have fun.”
Aly Raisman
“There’s no favorites, and you have to earn your spot just like any other person.
Aly Raisman
“There are multiple times during the week when I’m really tired and don’t even want to get out of bed.”
Aly Raisman
“Sometimes, when you look through magazines or you see these beautiful models, it’s hard because you want to compare yourself to them.”
Aly Raisman
“I love food in general.”
Aly Raisman
“I like to do completely nothing.”
Aly Raisman
Aliya Mustafina
“The most most difficult thing to overcome is yourself. It’s difficult to force oneself to get up and keep going when things are tough.”
Aliya Mustafina
Interviewer – “What would be a good reason not to come to practice?”
Aliya Mustafina – “Death.”
Aliya Mustafina
“Half a year ago I couldn’t even think of a medal. Then all of my intentions were to recover from the injury. There were moments when I even though of ending my gymnastics career. As fast as those moments came — they were gone.”
Aliya Mustafina
“I cry just at the gym. In life – very rare.”
Aliya Mustafina
“I think gymnastics should display a balance between being timeless, classic & feminine.”
Aliya Mustafina
Andreea Raducan
“It was great speaking as one Olympic champion to another……. I know that the president understands my disappointment. As a gymnast you only usually get one Games to show the world what you can do.”
Andrea Raducan
“I am carrying on with my beautiful life without the medal”
Andrea Raducan
“For me, that was a true life lesson. An extremely unpleasant one. I had incredible support during that period of time and that helped me a lot. I learnt how to see the good side of any experience I go through. I have always said that I lost an Olympic title but I won the respect and unconditional care of millions of people.”
Andrea Raducan
“Apart from all the values that IOC promotes, each competition lies under the principle of fair-play. Consequently, I consider that giving me the medal would be a proof of this fair-play. They knew it from back then and I am convinced that they now understand that I was innocent and that the medal I won was of a really good performance I had managed to pull through.”
Andrea Raducan
Bela Karolyi
“I consider myself very lucky that I could live my life through all the ups and downs.”
Bela Karolyi
“I am very familiar with Hungary, because I grew up in Romania, which borders it.”
Bela Karolyi
“The crowd sometimes plays a tremendous role to give you wings and carry you to victory.”
Bela Karolyi
“The crowd sometimes plays a tremendous role to give you wings and carry you to victory.”
Bela Karolyi
“The rest of the world laughed at American gymnastics before I came.”
Bela Karolyi
“Back in Romania, always I was struggling to compete with Vladislav Rastorotsky, the great Russian coach of Lyudmila Turishcheva. He was a powerful coach, internationally. I took him like the major challenge of my life, and pretty soon I’m beating him and we are pushing each other so hard, so fierce. But out of the arena, we are friends.”
Bela Karolyi
“A good 80 percent of the vault is still physical and another percentage of it, 20, 25 percent is mental. Mental is always the mental strength, the confidence building up to that contest or repetition, practice, practice, and practice.”
Bela Karolyi
“In gymnastics, smaller will always be better in many ways. The stress in the head, that will be the same for all. But the stress on the body and the concussions it must endure, that will always be easier for the little ones.”
Bela Karolyi
“I still love to find and develop the young athletes in traditional ways. I like to watch the physical and mental growth. That has always been very exciting.”
Bela Karolyi
“I know gymnastics. It’s always been a subjective appreciation.”
Bela Karolyi
“The Olympics shows the community what gymnastics is all about.”
Bela Karolyi
“This team just wasn’t good enough today, but they had the unity I always wanted. To have an American team like this has always been a dream of mine.”
Bela Karolyi
“You have to have competent people evaluating the athlete, not the housewives!”
Bela Karolyi
“Success depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice, how much you are willing to alter your everyday life for a particular goal.”
Bela Karolyi
“My attitude is never to be satisfied, never enough, never.”
Bela Karolyi
“I believe in playing with your heart, with every fiber in your body-fairly, squarely, by the rules-to win. And I believe that any man’s finest moment, the greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out and lies exhausted on the floor of battle-victorious.”
Bela Karolyi
Bev Plocki
“There is always some different twist to every year,” she said. “I would like to say there were a few years in there where it just came easy, but it feels like every year there is something different to overcome. Those are the things that make our teams grow closer together, when they really feel like they are pulling together and fighting for a common goal.
Bev Plocki
“Every single one of them has been really special and different than any of the others, …….People have asked me if there is a formula and there really isn’t. I came into a situation where I was fortunate to be able to create a culture and foundation for a program that we have been able to sustain for a very long time.”
Bev Plocki
“It feels unreal, …….I know that we have been really fortunate to have a lot of success, but to think about what that means in a conference like the Big Ten, with the success of so many sports on a national level, it is almost unbelievable.”
Bev Plocki
Catalina Ponor
“Gymnastics has been and will always be my first love. I spent 21 years in the gymnastics hall and it’s natural to miss it and also to miss the competition nerves and the coaches. Maybe at one point I’ll get used to the idea that I’m not a gymnast anymore but I think I’ll always miss it.”
Catalina Ponor
“My wish was to take part to another Olympic Games Competition. I did try to come back for Beijing but it didn’t happen because of injuries. When I came back in the training hall to get ready for London I promised myself I’d overcome any injury or any tough moment I might go trough only to be able to experience one more time those wonderful moments and feelings when you proudly represent your country. I knew not everyone is lucky enough to get to compete on an Olympic level and that motivated me even more to prove myself that if I really set my mind to do something I can do it.”
Catalina Ponor
Cheng Fei
“The best way to show respect to your fellow athletes is to give the best performance you can.”
Cheng Fei
“I was left helpless that I could not even retire smoothly.”
Cheng Fei
“I am motivated to live every day with a purpose.”
Cheng Fei
“When I go home I will talk to him about it. It’s not really his fault. I think to walk down any path in life, whether it’s through studying, or something else (like sports), there will always be obstacles and failures. I’m happy that I managed to get over everything.”
Cheng Fei
Daiane Dos Santos
”None of my siblings or cousins did it, there was no tradition of gymnastics in my family at all, …….I didn’t have the slightest idea of how to do gymnastics, and the truth is that only after I began to practice did I start to appreciate it. In the beginning, I liked it but I didn’t love it.”
Daiane Dos Santos
”It’s a problem that hasn’t happened just to me, but to black people everywhere, …….It makes things more difficult, but at least for me, it gave me more determination to go after what I want. I’m stubborn, and when they say ‘She can’t,’ I say ‘Oh yes I can.”’
Daiane Dos Santos
”What has changed is the method of training, …..Oleg (Oleg Ostapenko) has 30 years of experience in gymnastics, and I’ve gained a lot by working with him. He’s very demanding, and training with him is no joke.”
Daiane Dos Santos
Deng Linlin
“At that point, I was very focused in my elements, and filtered all unnecessary thoughts. It was the same in all competitions. A gymnast could only learn to control herself through accumulating experience through each competition, big and small.”
Deng Linlin
“On the podium, even if we two were friends or teammates, we were rivals as well. Competitive sports are always cruel, because there is only one champion.”
Deng Linlin
“I admired Li Xiaopeng (China MAG, four-time Olympic champion and eight-time World champion). He was not only handsome, but more importantly, he had a commanding presence in the arena. He was a genius in my mind.”
Deng Linlin
“I feel that my life should be more enriched, and this does not only limit to sports. No matter what I do, I can learn something and benefit. Every social engagement is an experience to improve myself, and I also hope to find my purpose in life through all these.”
Deng Linlin
Dominique Dawes
“I love athletics. As an athlete, I like to believe I can still do the things I used to do when I was once young.”
Dominique Dawes
“There will be mistakes and there will be falters. There will be things that are not a part of your plan. See the challenges in your life and accept them and embrace them.”
Dominique Dawes
“Don’t set your goals to be a star. Set your goals to be the best that you can be and go from there.”
Dominique Dawes
“I thoroughly enjoy the work I do in helping motivate and empower young girls to celebrate and love their natural selves.”
Dominique Dawes
“I realized I love motivating and I love empowering and I love inspiring people. I did that as an athlete for 18 years, and I am able to do that as a motivational speaker now as well as doing work on television.”
Dominique Dawes
Gabrielle Douglas
“Never quit, never give up.”
Gabrielle Douglas
“I don’t know where this is coming from. What’s wrong with my hair? I’m like ‘I just made history and people are focused on my hair?’ It can be bald or short, it doesn’t matter about my hair. Nothing is going to change. I’m going to wear my hair like this during beam and bar finals. You might as well just stop talking about it.”
Gabrielle Douglas
“I was just, you know, kind of getting racist jokes, kind of being isolated from the group. So it was definitely hard. I would come home at night and just cry my eyes out.”
Gabrielle Douglas
“Hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made.”
Gabrielle Douglas
“Gold medals are made out of sweat, blood and tears and effort in the gym every day.”
Gabrielle Douglas
“Gold medals are made out of sweat, blood and tears and effort in the gym every day.”
Gabrielle Douglas
“Sacrifices are not in vain. At the end, everything will pay off.”
Gabrielle Douglas
Kerri Strug
“I always know on the 23rd of July, I kind of know that this is the day my life changed.”
Kerri Strug
“Enjoy the journey because it will be here and over before you know it.”
Kerri Strug
“Persistence, perseverance, precision.”
Kerri Strug
“I’ve had so many opportunities that I never even dreamed were possible for me.”
Kerri Strug
“Being a mom is the greatest accomplishment of my life.”
Kerri Strug
“There will always be a special place in my heart for the Olympic Games.”
Kerri Strug
“I wouldn’t say that I do anything special. But I’m definitely reminded every year.”
Kerri Strug
“The feeling of satisfaction I had knowing I achieved my lifelong dream was incredible.”
Kerri Strug
“Life is gonna throw you curve balls and it’s how you deal with them and your attitude and your work ethic.”
Kerri Strug
“Everyone says that once you have children you just can’t imagine life without them and that’s so true. They’re my everything.”
Kerri Strug
Liang Chow
“A champion isn’t made of muscle; a champion is made of heart.”
Liang Chow
“The first weeks in the US, I was asking, ‘Where is my food?’”
Liang Chow
“If you have the talent and if you have the ability, and you work for it, you can achieve your goals.”
Liang Chow
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have my very own school – no way. And I had no idea I’d be coaching girls. It’s wild.”
Liang Chow
“God had a plan for everything. I never knew I’d come to Iowa, but now I love Iowa. Everything is so great about it – the people, the environment, education. I’m so proud to say I’m an Iowan. I’m living the dream.”
Liang Chow
“There’s a lot of pressure, and it’s a long battle, to coach at the elite level. My wife and I didn’t take a vacation for 10 years.”
Liang Chow
Lilia Podkopayeva
“Gymnastics still remains in my life, despite the fact that I have left the big sport. Each year I am invited to sports schools and summer camps in USA and other countries to give master classes for children. Sometimes I judge competitions since I have been certified as an international judge.”
Lilia Podkopayeva
“I think the gymnastics has become more powerful and intense but less graceful. When I performed besides usual trainings we were learning lots of choreography to make movements more elegant. It gave the sportsmen an advantage in competitions. Now more attention is paid to skills. More acrobatic stunts have appeared in gymnastics. I think the trend has changes but the difficulty level has stayed the same.”
Lilia Podkopayeva
“To become a successful gymnast he or she needs first of all to be persistent and hardworking.”
Lilia Podkopayeva
“I would like to say to the young gymnasts that the biggest victory is the one that you win over yourself. If you can overcome your pain, fatigue, laziness, you can achieve anything you want. Be patient, work hard and never lose your balance.”
Lilia Podkopayeva
Mary Lou Retton
“Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.”
Mary Lou Retton
“Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it.”
Mary Lou Retton
“Working hard becomes a habit, a serious kind of fun. You get self-satisfaction from pushing your self to the limit, knowing that all the effort is going to pay off.”
Mary Lou Retton
“Rather then focusing on the obstacle in your path, focus on the bridge over the obstacle.”
Mary Lou Retton
“A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.”
Mary Lou Retton
“Erase the word “failure” from your vocabulary. No case is ever truly closed, and no challenge is ever over.”
Mary Lou Retton
“Even though it may seem counterintuitive, a comfort zone is a dangerous place to be.”
Mary Lou Retton
“As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we’ve been given.”
Mary Lou Retton
“You’ve got to believe in yourself first. Take risks and don’t be afraid to fall.”
Mary Lou Retton
McKayla Maroney
“Looking back isn’t going to help you. Moving forward is the thing you have to do.”
McKayla Maroney
“I really like crop tops. I like how you can dress them up or down, with jeans or a skirt and heels. I like to be showy and cute. I don’t want to be in just a jacket and pants and boots.”
McKayla Maroney
“There’s a lot of stress out there, and to handle it, you just need to believe in yourself; always go back to the person that you know you are, and don’t let anybody tell you any different, because everyone’s special and everyone’s awesome.”
McKayla Maroney
“Before competition, I always take an ice bath to make my body feel more refreshed. Then I always have coffee with a little cream and sugar. It’s a superstitious thing.”
McKayla Maroney
“Every single day, I get asked by people to do ‘the face,’ so I’m bringing it along with me now for the rest of my life.”
McKayla Maroney
“If you’re following your dreams, you’re doing something you love and that you believe in yourself for.”
McKayla Maroney
Nadia Comaneci
“Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win.”
Nadia Comeneci
“I don’t run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.”
Nadia Comeneci
“I believe that you should gravitate to people who are doing productive and positive things with their lives.”
Nadia Comeneci
“Life is not easy for anyone. You have to have ups and downs. You can make mistakes. You learn and try not to make them again. That’s pretty much my principle.”
Nadia Comeneci
“Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don’t lose the passion and the love for what you do.”
Nadia Comeneci
“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.”
Nadia Comeneci
“You should also appreciate the goodness around you, and surround yourself with positive people.”
Nadia Comeneci
“I live in the moment. I can turn the page and move on.”
Nadia Comeneci
Nastia Liukin
“Set daily, monthly and long term goals and dreams. Don’t ever be afraid to dream too big. Nothing is impossible. If you believe in yourself, you can achieve it.”
Nastia Liukin
“If you are afraid of failure, you don’t deserve success.
Nastia Liukin
“Finish what you start, no matter how painful it may be.”
Nastia Liukin
“I’ve had to learn through experiences not to be afraid to fail. You don’t know what the future holds for you. You can hope your dreams come true, but you have to be fearless. I don’t want to look back and think, What if?”
Nastia Liukin
“You don’t always get stronger on the days that everything comes easily to you.”
Nastia Liukin
“You always have to finish what you start and I learned that some of life’s greatest lessons come with disappointment.”
Nastia Liukin
“The first time I walked into the Olympic athlete village seeing the Visa ATM machine with my picture on it and the Chinese characters saying “Destiny.” For some reason, it just boosted my confidence and it was before I had even worked out or had my first training or competed.”
Nastia Liukin
Rhonda Faehn
“In gymnastics, certain things can happen, and as heartbreaking as it is to not qualify, you never know. But I can honestly say in all confidence that this team is performing the best they have since they’ve been here.”
Rhonda Faehn
“Yes, that was a shock to us. But I’m very happy with how we performed under those conditions. Sometimes when it’s like that from the start it can effect the athletes’ mentality. But they didn’t let it effect them.”
Rhonda Faehn
“Any time we beat a huge SEC rival it makes everyone feel good.”
Rhonda Faehn
“She could have been a prima donna easily with her skill level and the look of her gymnastics being so exceptional. That’s why I love her so much. She’s just so sweet and so humble.”
Rhonda Faehn
Sandra Izbasa
“Why gymnastics? Because my parents wanted me to practice a sport, not necessarily for performance, but so I could grow beautiful, harmonious and consumed all the energy that I had in a safe place, away from danger.”
Sandra Izbasa
“I want what I didn’t achieve so far: to take a gold medal at the World Championships. The event is not important, it can be either on Vault or on Floor.”
Sandra Izbasa
On first competitions of the season… “The first competitions of the season. Can you believe it? After, you get used to it, and emotions are less. I like that my emotions, turn into constructive adrenaline.”
Sandra Izbasa
“I believe in the new generation, and we must not forget, that in 2016 Diana Bulimar and Larisa Iordache, will be at their second major experience from their career. This will be very important for the smaller girls, because they will need support, and first of all, a strong team.”
Sandra Izbasa
Sarah Patterson
“I think the stage is set for a great meet next Friday.”
Sarah Patterson
“To look at her face and see that smile pop up really says a lot about Terin’s season. It’s been my goal to let Terin have fun again with gymnastics, and she’s starting to see that.”
Sarah Patterson
“I think the reason we’re successful is that we complement each others’ strengths and weaknesses.”
Sarah Patterson
Shannon Miller
“Other people may not have had high expectations for me… but I had high expectations for myself.”
Shannon Miller
“In gymnastics, you have to be perfect every step along the way.”
Shannon Miller
“Everyone has obstacles, and you’re not going to have the right answer or do the right thing every single time.”
Shannon Miller
“It’s amazing to me that they’re cutting physical education programs in the school systems.”
Shannon Miller
“At an Olympics Game, you want to enjoy it, especially if you know it’s going to be your last one.”
Shannon Miller
“At the Olympics, you there to do a job. I feel you should take it seriously. You should be respectful. You are putting on the red-white-and-blue and going out there to perform for your country.”
Shannon Miller
“At the Olympics, you there to do a job. I feel you should take it seriously. You should be respectful. You are putting on the red-white-and-blue and going out there to perform for your country.”
Shannon Miller
Shawn Johnson
“I’m trying to stay as calm as possible and focus one day at a time, but when reality sets in, I feel everything: anxiety, excitement, nerves, pressure and joy.”
Shawn Johnson
“The body is an amazing machine… If you eat the right things your body will perform incredibly well!”
Shawn Johnson
“My parents- they’ve been my biggest influences and supporters since day one. They teach me every day that happiness comes from within and not from something outside of your heart.”
Shawn Johnson
“I always have someone to look up to, and I think it helps me with motivating myself.”
Shawn Johnson
“We’re taught at such a young age that you can always be better and that you’re never perfect and that you’re never good enough.”
Shawn Johnson
Simona Amanar
“I accept this medal [for] Romania. The Olympic Champion that day was Andreea, not me.”
Simona Amanar
“Gymnastics has always been a passion for me. Now it’s a way of life.”
Simona Amanar
“I want to have a party like never before.” (after the 2000 Olympics)
Simona Amanar
Simone Biles
“It’s inspiring to young athletes that there are more records that can still be broken.”
Simone Biles
“A successful competition for me is always going out there and putting 100 percent into whatever I’m doing.”
Simone Biles
“I was missing out on public school and going to the football games, prom or homecomings. But I’ve been to three World Championships … so I think it’s like a win-win.”
Simone Biles
“If you’re having fun, that’s when the best memories are built.”
Simone Biles
“I was built this way for a reason, so I’m going to use it.”
Simone Biles
“I plan on doing things that I can’t do because of gym right now. … Things like going swimming with sharks or jumping off a cliff into water.”
Simone Biles
“To go out there and prove what I can do has taught me a lot about who I am.”
Simone Biles
“We can push ourselves further. We always have more to give.”
Simone Biles
“The team comes first.”
Simone Biles
“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I’m the first Simone Biles.”
Simone Biles
“You don’t have to be serious all the time to do a good job.”
Simone Biles
“Always work hard and have fun in what you do because I think that’s when you’re more successful. You have to choose to do it.”
Simone Biles
Svetlana Khorkina
“It’s easy to see on the podium because everyone else is small!”
Svetlana Khorkina
“Hard work is always hard work, for young gymnasts and old gymnasts. Whoever can handle this will be a champion.”
Svetlana Khorkina
“I knew well in advance even before I stepped on the stage for my first event that I was going to lose.”
Svetlana Khorkina
Valeri Liukin
“She never watches. We have to call her and tell her it’s over.”
Valeri Liukin
“Hey, beam is beam. She hasn’t fallen off the beam in a long time. You know she’s not a machine. ….we’ll all move on.”
Valeri Liukin
“We could have done better. Absolutely. And we will.”
Valeri Liukin
“I’m proud of her as a father and a coach. You can only dream of your baby working hard to get where she wants to be. And as a coach, what can I say? Look at the results.”
Valeri Liukin
Viktoria Komova
“Look don’t sit there behind the computer like a useless vegetable and tell me how to train.”
Viktoria Komova
“Always beleive that something great is about to happen.”
Viktoria Komova
“Always push forward and never give up.”
Viktoria Komova
