In MMA it's a lot less intimidating because it's not like you get one shot at a title every four years. You get a title shot every couple of months... With the Olympics, you don't always have this, so there is so much more pressure involved.
If the Olympic Games ever served a true altruistic purpose, they have long since outlived it. Yeah, the pursuit of athletic excellence, sportsmanship and international goodwill is plenty noble. But the modern Olympics are at best a vehicle for agitprop; at worst, a scandal magnet.
Especially in the car ride to and from gym. I find myself spacing out a lot, just visualizing what the Olympics would be like and just having such great role models.
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.
The best gift I could give my father would be to represent India in the Olympics. If I can do that in 2016, and even win a medal, it will be fantastic.
One naively thinks that by winning the Olympics, it's going to be this switch, and then your life is going to be perfect, and that's not reality.
It's the Olympics. And it was a long way for me. To compete at the Olympic Games, I dreamed of any medal, but frankly speaking, I wanted a gold one.
I am also hugely excited to then be competing to defend my three Paralympic titles at the Paralympic Games. I believe we will see some amazing times posted and I am very much looking forward to what will be an incredible Olympics and Paralympics in London.
Of course, when you're training your whole life to get to the Olympics, you train for gold.
The Emmy that I lost, and I can't remember his name, I lost to the man who did the Olympics. So, it was great to lose to him. It's the Olympics.
Everything about the Olympics was first class, and women were treated as athletes and equals.
Obviously, losing a parent is very difficult. I miss my dad every day, but I know he would be proud to see me continuing to swim and going for another shot at the Olympics.
I think the Olympics could help us reach more people.
I am on the International Board of Best Buddies, and I am also working with Special Olympics, and with The Arc to help people with disabilities become more independent and more included in their communities.
The time leading up to the 1996 Olympics was the most demanding and stressful of my career. The sport I had loved so much was slowly becoming a nightmare as I trained with Bela and Marta Karolyi the summer before the Olympics.
It's my dream, my goal to be good at Olympics, anywhere they are in the world.
I would love to be a professional athlete. When I was living in Mexico as a teenager, I did seven years of gymnastics and went to the Junior Olympics. I was getting to the level of going to the international competitions, but I was only 14, and my parents were really worried because they did not want that to be my life.
I raced locally for a year, went to Europe the year after and went to the Olympics the year after that.
I met Jesse Owens once. He was a remarkable individual, and I have tremendous respect for what he did in the Olympics under the circumstances.
The big picture is the Trials and Olympics. I just have to keep focused for that, keep moving forward.
I will remember all the days at the Olympics.
Although the general security situation for the Beijing Olympics remains stable, we still face the challenges of terrorism, separatism and extremism.
I lost in the 1988 Olympics, and I was pretty depressed for about eight years. I quit wrestling, and I got into Brazilian jujitsu in 1991.
This Olympics is almost a little sad. It is my final Olympics. There are a lot of good memories.
Badminton will gain momentum in a big manner after my win in Olympics. More players will participate in the game now.
But inside of me I knew that the Olympics were still there. I was still young enough. I knew that once I transitioned out of hockey, it would be really hard to go back.
I think after the 2008 Olympics I wasn't really satisfied with the outcome, so I knew I had to change some things.
The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself.
I just want kids to have a chance to go and try an Olympic sport. Every kid has a bike - that's how I started, and one kid coming along and giving it a go could make that journey to the Olympics.
In 2010, I was 17 or 18 and thought, 'Yeah, the Olympics, that might happen.'
Most people take long breaks after Olympics. I needed some normalcy back in my life, so I came back to the pool.
For 10 days after the Olympics, I couldn't go back to my house because people were sitting outside waiting to take my photo. That was a bit rubbish. At first I was open: 'Yeah, of course you can take a photo...' but after a while, it got to the point where I thought, 'Whoa, I don't like this attention anymore.'
It's not the Olympics. It's Concord, New Hampshire, and a homecoming should reflect the community I'm part of.
I really want to do the Olympics. Obviously, I can't let things out of the bag, so to speak.
When I went to the Olympics, I had every intention of shaving the mustache off, but I realized I was getting so many comments about it - and everybody was talking about it - that I decided to keep it.
When I won the Golden Gloves in 1960, that made me realize I had a chance. And when I won at the Olympics, that sealed it: I was the champ.
