I had more pressure when I competed in Moscow. I had no pressure in Montreal because I only went to do my routines and hoping I didn't mess it up when I was on the bar. When I came back, 10,000 people were at the airport and I thought, 'Why?' because, in my mind, I hadn't done anything different from what I used to do in my gym.
If I was a boy, nobody would care that I worked out six, seven hours a day when I was 9 years old, no? Why were people always saying 'poor little girl?' I liked to work out and always did more than I was asked to.
You can't jump from little things to big things. It just takes time and patience.
I like to tell young people to work hard for your goals and live in the moment.
Yes, gymnasts aim for perfection, but I never thought about the score. If that's what's in your mind, it will probably mess you up.
I like Oklahoma. It's a quiet place. You can work, and nobody disturbs you.
I never personally complained; everybody else complained for me.
Gymnastics should be popular everywhere; you just need the right person to start the right programme.
The - I don't want to say older, but the more experienced I get, I treasure and I honor what I've done much more.
I cannot change anything, so I don't want to think about what I would have done.
We developed a system in Romania that was very successfully continued for a number of years, but I don't know if it was because of some conflict in the organisation or whether there was government interference... but somehow, they have forgotten the importance of raising gymnasts to be ready for every Olympics.
My mother never watched me train in Romania. She wasn't allowed, it just wasn't done back then. My training was paid for by the government. My parents were not at the Olympics with me, either. I never expected them to be.
I basically have my life today as a result of what I did as a child. What did I miss out on? Yeah, I missed not hanging out at shopping malls, I guess, but that is not a big deal because you don't get a medal for that.
When I look back, I am happy that my mum took me to the gymnastics club. I didn't join gymnastics to become a famous athlete or celebrity; it just happened - I did more than I expected, of course.
Once you become an Olympic champion, you are expected to win all the time.
It feels good when you come to a place like Oklahoma to charge up the batteries. I need that.
People ask me what the definition of perfection, I said it's none: there is no definition of perfection.
I hoped to win a medal and hoped it would be gold. I knew I was good but didn't know I would be the one to score something that had never been done before.
I like America. I don't want to hurt America.
I think that when you are on a four-inch balance beam, you don't care about laughing or smiling or waving to the crowd because you're going to be down in a second.
I know my life story sounds too extraordinary to be true.
I couldn't do everything in the first or second day; it took me years to be able to get to the achievement that I've had. I wasn't perfect from the beginning.
We used to exchange leotards with gymnasts from other countries. I don't remember who I got my most prized leotard from, but it was one with a lot of stars on it.
Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don't lose the passion and the love for what you do.
I think gymnastics was associated with the 10. I thought that belonged to the sport, and somehow we gave it way.
Romania doesn't have a big tradition of gymnastics as a fun activity. We were a little behind in this aspect.