Olympic Medalist Quotes & Sayings

I looked up and saw my flag. But I didn't hear my anthem. The quotation above from 6 ft 4 inch, 286 pound Silver Medalist Ghaffari (who broke down in tears on the medal stand) summed up his disappointment after an overtime loss to Aleksandr Karelin of Russia. A win would have given Ghaffari not only the Olympic gold medal but also his first victory over Karelin, something of which he has literally dreamed about after 20 meets between the two. Karelin dominates international competition in the sport. — Matt Ghaffari

If you bake a cupcake, the world has one more cupcake. If you become a circus clown, the world has one more squirt of seltzer down someone's pants. But if you win an Olympic gold medal, the world will not have one more Olympic gold medalist. It will just have you instead of someone else. — Steven E. Landsburg

At nine, my mom used to tell me she saw an Olympic medalist in me. I used to take it as a joke, but she was very serious. — Saina Nehwal

Kind of what? Gordon challenged, cutting his eyes to Kevin even as a mental image of himself in the back of Aiden's truck popped into his mind. Shredded jeans in a ball on the floorboard and riding the Outlaw with the athleticism of an Olympic gold medalist in ass fucking. — Santino Hassell

You do not boo an Olympic Gold Medalist. I'm the best in the world. I came here for you. You don't boo me. — Kurt Angle

My goal is one Olympic gold medal. Not many people in this world can say, 'I'm an Olympic gold medalist.' — Michael Phelps

I wanted to be the best street fighter in Houston, Texas. And I thought if I got a trophy or two, I'd go back home, and everyone would be afraid of me. I had one fight in '67, the first one. In '68 of October, I was an Olympic gold-medalist, a dream come true, with a total of 25 boxing matches. — George Foreman

In my very first interview, at nine years old, I said I wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist. That was the first time I said it out loud in front of somebody other than my parents. — Dominique Moceanu

You don't BOO an Olympic Gold Medalist! — Kurt Angle

The hard part for me was being an Olympic gold medalist and having that persona; you don't see too many Olympic gold medalists go into acting. It's actually even more difficult. You're not taken very seriously, and you're looked at in a different light, so it was kind of hard for me to go straight from Olympics into acting. — Kurt Angle

When she (my mother) passed away, I kind of understood the commitment that she made to make sure that I could stay in skating. And I wanted to live up to whatever I could. Not so much win everything, but just to be the best that I could possibly be, to honor her memory and everything she went through to make sure that I was given the opportunities to be the best that I can be. Not to be a world champion or an Olympic gold medalist, but to be the best that I could be. And that was the most important thing that ever happened in my career. — Theodore Roosevelt

I always thought the Vancouver Olympics would be my last destination, but I'm extending it to Sochi ... I want to start anew, not as an Olympic medalist but just as yet another figure skater. — Kim Yuna

Being an Olympic Medalist was a team effort. So I am honored to be a part of CBS Sports' WE NEED TO TALK cast of iconic women. Being part of a show with some of my broadcasting and sports idols is an honor. — Dara Torres

Since Rose, he'd never wanted to be the right guy for anyone. He hadn't wanted to carry that extra burden. He liked things nice and simple. But things sure as hell weren't simple with Lena. They'd never been simple with Lena. Things with Lena had been one hundred shades of unadulterated complication from day one. That fact alone should have sent him running in the opposite direction with all the speed of an Olympic gold medalist.

But no, here he stood. Holding on to her as if his life depended on it. Heaven help him, his life probably did depend on it. — Loren Mathis

When Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner asked a roomful of Olympic hopefuls if they had a list of written goals, every one raised their hands. When he asked how many of them had that list with them right that moment, only one person raised their hand. That person was Dan O'Brien. And it was Dan O'Brien who went on to win the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Don't underestimate the power of setting goals and constantly reviewing them. — Jack Canfield

Growing up in Alaska, they don't really teach you to swim there. I learned to swim just a few summers ago with Olympic gold medalist Amanda Beard. She did great, and right after that I went to get scuba certified. I had fun with it. I didn't really get scared, but some people thought that was a risk. — Holly Madison