Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Where there is peace, there is sports; where there is sports, there is peace. Peace is what allows us, especially young people, to dream, go after one's goals and prepare you for the next challenge in life.
I've realized how precious life is. When I was younger, I was more adventurous. I felt invincible. I was game for everything. As a mom, I don't want to get injured because then I can't take care of my kids.
I'm competing against men who are doing five quads between the short program and the long program, and I'm at three between the two programs. Who would ever imagine that three wasn't enough for some people?
To me, it's a little odd to ever think 'model into actor.' I modeled once. I was about as far from a decent model as you can possibly be. I did not enjoy the world at all. I fell in my stilettos quite a bit.
My mother stopped working when she had my brother. She was a full time mom until I started getting heavily into ice skating lessons, and it got to the point where they really needed my mom to earn an income.
I have been performing and touring and doing shows all over the world. But it's really something special to get back on the U.S. cast of 'Stars on Ice.' It's something I let go because of family commitments.
The Women's Sports Foundation has empowered so many young girls and women across the U.S. I benefitted from WSF with a travel and training grant when I was 12 years old. It really helped my family financially.
I think exercise tests us in so many ways, our skills, our hearts, our ability to bounce back after setbacks. This is the inner beauty of sports and competition, and it can serve us all well as adult athletes.
When I came back on the rink in 2012, I set a goal of wrapping up my career well rather than just winning medals. I'm not preparing for any special skills for Sochi because I don't feel like they are necessary.
Without strength and courage it's really hard to perform at the highest levels of international figure skating, because you're alone on the ice and you only have seven minutes over two nights to prove yourself.
What was really funny is that as I got older all those guys who called me a sissy in junior high school wanted me to be their best friend because they wanted to meet all the girls that I knew in figure skating.
I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. My mother's battled depression, so I understand it now as a parent, some of the things that she must have been going through.
There's a lot in my closet. I've been collecting things since I was five. I'm definitely a pack rat. I'm not a hoarder, but I'm definitely a pack rat. I will keep anything if I have a memory in it or a good moment.
What I really wanted was to perform. So if it took four world titles or one Olympic medal, I just wanted so badly to be able to perform. So it doesn't hinder me sleeping at night that I don't have an Olympic medal.
I hope that more children have the same opportunities as me, with the same parents as me, that let me be an individual, who gave me freedom, and taught me to believe in myself before anyone else would believe in me.
I hope that people will one day look back at my skating and what I brought to the table. 'Remember when Patrick skated like this? Or remember when skating was like this?' That would be a cool legacy to leave behind.
For an athlete myself, it is especially meaningful for our country to host an Olympics. Every athlete hopes to participate in an Olympics, so I still can't believe the games of dreams is going to take place in Korea.
As an athlete, that's something I always take with me. You fall every day, whether it's in a job, or you miss something else, but you learn how to do it better next time. You learn it in sports. That's a life lesson.
There isn't quite a feeling you get from playing video games that you get when you're playing sports, which is like a sense of euphoria. You just get the satisfaction of doing something active and feeling good after.
A lot of people who have depression understand that the last thing in the world you want to do when you're feeling that way is get up and exercise. It's virtually impossible to do that. It's like somebody beating you.
I'm really very glad that I had skating to be my love and my escape. I think that it always gave me something that made me feel good, and it was music, and it was peaceful, and not a lot of the other stresses of life.
I've never been invited to do 'Stars on Ice' before, which is the only figure skating tour in the U.S., and it's disappointing that I can't perform for my American fans... all because I'm not 'family friendly' enough.
I had trouble finding my next goal after winning a gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics, but the interest of the public and my fans in me got even bigger. I wanted to get away from the pressure, even for a single day.
I get mad at my mom. I really wish she'd put me into hockey. I'm not gifted with height, but look at Martin St-Louis. He's unbelievable. He's small, but he's so fast, so skilful. I think I could have been pretty good.
I love stepping onto the ice knowing I can create whatever I want or am feeling that day. It inspires me to be creative and artistic. It's a great therapeutic outlet to utilize both my heart and body at the same time.
It's kind of low brow, but the show 'Bob's Burgers' is hilarious, and being from the Midwest, I can kind of relate to a lot of the jokes. 'Orange is The New Black' is a Netflix Exclusive, I think - that's really funny.
I learned to put 100 percent into what you're doing. I learned about setting goals for yourself, knowing where you want to be and taking small steps toward those goals. I learned about adversity and how to get past it.
I was born in a blizzard, a special out-of-season blizzard, the worst blizzard Oslo ever suffered. Family, home, circumstances, the country I lived in and the weather I was born in all conspired to make a skater of me.
Whether you're an athlete or a student, having an adult who believes in you and can give you advice and wisdom that is coming from a place of experience is an incredible asset to help guide you through your young life.
I'm different, and I have to be a warrior to be that way. But I have had some success; I hope I have touched the lives of some wonderful people, all by being what I see as myself but some others people see as different.
I don't take on a project unless I know the end result is going to make me happy. If I can't give 100 percent to something, I choose not to do it because it's very difficult to have so many pots on the fire at one time.
I'd love to learn how to foxtrot and cha cha. Believe it or not, I have terrible dancing skills. I can do everything on the ice, but as soon as you put me on the ground, I'm that person that falls down walking off a curb.
And what is a gold medal? I'd never really thought about it before Nagano. Now I realize that it's a dream to strive for. I love my silver medal, because it stands for all my dreams and all I'm still capable of fulfilling
There were days I forgot my school clothes, and I would actually go to school with skating tights and a little skirt. It's very embarrassing... I definitely had to be comfortable in my own skin, and my mom taught me that.
It's not that I haven't given it (turning pro) careful thought, it's just that I am torn as to which course I should take. There is no need to rush. I won't be consulting anybody about this and I will do things my own way.
Career-wise, I was not the most naturally talented ice skater. Of course I had a knack for it , but practice was always the answer for me. I needed to put in the time to get back the confidence that led me to Olympic gold.
Music is fun, but I'm an ice skater. I may sing songs and do shows, make movies and other things... that's all well and good and I enjoy it, and I would never trade any of those for anything. But figure skating is who I am.
I was passionate. I found something that I loved. I could be all alone in a big old skating rink and nobody could get near me and I didn't have to talk to anybody because of my shyness. It was great. I was in my fantasy world.
I would love someone to follow me around with a boom box so I could have a soundtrack to record my daily moments. That would be awesome! I also wouldn't complain if I had someone doing my hair - I have a hard time with my hair.
I got into figure skating for the art of it, as well as the sport, and how much I love it. And, you know, I do everything that I want. I march to my own drummer. Sometimes people have an issue with that, and I can't control it.
My parents never pressured me to skate. They always said I could quit if I wanted to. They only expected me to skate when they had already paid for the expensive lessons. But, otherwise they said I could do what I wanted to do.
It's incredible. Nine? Wow. I just remember winning my first one, getting the medal and the plate, the pin with the diamond for first place. My ninth title, I have no answer for that because I never thought it would be possible.
Masculinity is what you believe it to be. I think masculinity and femininity is something that's very old-fashioned. There's a whole new generation of people who aren't defined by their sex or race or who they like to sleep with.
I dress like a boy most of the time because I like what's comfortable, so sometimes when I have to wear dresses and makeup, it's kind of comedic. I take lots of pictures on my cell phone: 'Look, I'm dressed like a girl! Surprise!'
Our family life, before figure skating turned it upside down, seemed normal. Our town of Riverside, Connecticut, was part of Greenwich, and we had the advantage of their wonderful community, with great beaches and beautiful parks.
My family had a membership to the Riverside Yacht Club where my brother, Sandy, learned to sail, and I competed in local swim races. My sister, Marcia, became a competitive springboard diver, and my brother excelled in water polo.
People expect that I'll be just perfect on ice, and that's not the case. I make mistakes, too. When I review my performance, sometimes I feel I did awful. That's the whole part of the process of what people see when I'm performing.
it's a feeling of ice miles running under your blades, the wind splitting open to let you through, the earth whirling around you at the touch of your toe, and speed lifting you off the ice far from all things that can hold you down.
When I look back at the world championships, I know there's a lot of room for improvement, I'm always up for a challenge. The Olympics, they don't define me, I've had some good and some bad. But it's all about the Olympic experience.
To be the best, you need to be the most well-trained and well-prepared athlete you can be. The pressure is going to be all around you. You just have to make sure that your body and mind is fine-tuned. Then you go out there and do it.