Athlete

The only thing I want to think about the moments before a race is competing. I don't want the little things to distract me.

Universities are like a utopia in a way, because you're mentally stimulated, you're challenged, and you have a lot of young, creative minds wanting to do new things, different things. Better things.

Know that even when you want to give up or throw in the towel, in the end it will all be worth the hard work.

As athletes, we love to say, 'Just one more; I'm going to figure it out on this next one.' It's tough to pull back the reins and do what is smart physically, listening to your body and always ending a workout or session feeling like I could have done more.

As you get older and gain more experience, you're able to do multiple things. You don't necessarily have to focus so hard on your performance in order to have a good one.

From the age of seven, I basically started practicing my hand-eye and foot coordination, balance, strength, endurance, discipline, and mental toughness three days a week until I was about 15.

The strong ones are the ones who realize that having a bad training day, those types of days are necessary.

The Olympic gold was like going to a theater and seeing a movie that had the ending you expected. But you left the theater thinking, 'You know, that was a good movie.'

As a decathlete, you take pride in saying, 'The elements, I'm not going to let them affect me. It's just the 11th event. Another thing you have to fight through.'

I wouldn't have gone to a Division I school if I didn't have scholarship help. We couldn't afford it.

The first sport I played was baseball. I remember being on the Little League team and someone pitching the ball to me for the first time. I was ready to no longer hit the ball off the tee, and an adult pitched it to me underhand.

I'm a second-degree black belt.

I was one of those kids who, everything I tried sports-related, I liked.

That's what has always been good about track. The goal is very clearly defined: Try to win. Get the gold medal. And I'm able to put my energy toward that.

When you're doing any event on an elite level, you're in tune with your body.

I'm very happy to have set a world record in Tallinn. Estonians sure do love athletics and combined events!

I don't set goals. Competing with a number in your head can be limiting, and I don't know what my capabilities are yet.

I won't back down. I get a satisfaction from being tested and defeating the test.

That's what we want people to do. Select a goal or gold and go after it.

My local newspaper, the 'Bend Bulletin,' interviewed me while I was at high school after I had just signed with the University of Oregon. I remember I wore a University of Oregon hooded sweatshirt, and they took a picture of me in the long jump pit. I was freezing!