Athlete Quotes

And I continued to grow until I was 25 years old.

And from the first time I picked up a basketball at age eight - I had a lot of difficulty when I first picked up a basketball, because I was a scrub - there were things that I liked about it.

But you know, we have a very normal family. We've had our ups and downs. You know, we've had our issues, but we've had great cause for celebration.

That was just my own personal program: I didn't want to get too high over the good moments because I didn't want to be saddened and depressed when things didn't go as I had planned.

If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end.

I think I started learning lessons about being a good person long before I ever knew what basketball was. And that starts in the home, it starts with the parental influence.

Being a typical Pisces, I might have experienced mood shifts, but I don't remember any depression, or needing to do anything, or to have someone bring me out of being depressed.

With the crowds on your side, it's easier to play up to your potential.

Teachers are sort of faced with a thankless task, because no matter how good they are, unless they find a way to personally rationalize the rewards of their effort, nobody else is really going to do it for them en masse.

Goals determine what you're going to be.

One of the most predictable things in life is there will be change. You are better off if you can have a say in the change. But you are ignorant or naive if you don't think there will be change, whether you want it to or not.

The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.

I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.

We always spend more time on the throwing events and a little bit more on the long jump. They're my weaker events - they don't come as naturally to me as running and jumping. I like the hurdles and the high-jump, I'm a springy, speedy athlete so those suit me.

To unwind after training, I love to have a long hot soak in the bath, then veg out on the sofa with a box set. I'm a box-set junkie! I absolutely love 'Grey's Anatomy.'

To get the adrenaline pumping between events - or to help me switch off, Jay Z, the Roots and Drake are on my playlist.

Things have changed so much, with Facebook and Twitter. Everyone is so much more accessible these days: no British athlete has ever experienced what we are experiencing now. It's such a unique situation with the home Olympics.

There was a massive poster of me down my road, right outside the chip shop. I was about to go in, but then I saw it and changed my mind. Me coming out with a bag of chips, while I'm up there doing crunches on the poster... well, it would not look good.

People who aren't perhaps that into sport are going to be following me and wanting to be part of the Olympics. That definitely does bring added pressure but as an athlete the Olympics are the ultimate competition.

People think the gold medal is yours and they say you're going to win - but they have no idea how hard it is. People aren't doing it negatively - they're mostly lovely and they really do want you to win - but they don't understand the difficulty and intensity of competition.

One minute you're a developing athlete trying to get to the top, then the next minute you do well and win a medal somewhere, and then it's all foisted on you. You never know when it's going to happen. You don't think about the media side of things when you're a young athlete trying to do well.

On a scale of one to 10, I'd rate my body confidence as a good seven. Everyone has their hang-ups, but I see my body as a training tool and I feel good about it.

My idea of beauty is somebody that doesn't have to try too much, someone who is effortless and fresh.

It's really important for me to look good before a race. I definitely think if I feel I look good, it makes me feel more confident.

It's quite funny in that I once won Rear of the Year at my school! I was about 17 in the sixth form and we used to have an end of year celebration and give out different awards. I even got a little trophy!

I wasn't the kind of kid who would get A's without even trying. I had to work to get good grades, but I was very organised about it because I always wanted to do well at everything I did. I'm very competitive.

I was around 15 when I first wanted to compete in an Olympics. I even remember the first time I got to wear a GB kit as a junior. I've even kept it. It's in my mum's loft somewhere, probably gone mouldy by now.

I want to experience that massive adrenalin rush when you step into a new stadium, all the more so when that Olympic Stadium is packed full of people waving British flags.

I think there's going to be pressure on all the British athletes. It's a home Olympics at the end of the day. I like adrenaline, that's something I feed off. I'm just going to go out there and do my best.

I love getting dressed up for red carpet events and having my hair and makeup done professionally - that definitely helps with nerves of going down the red carpet.