Olympic gold medal doesn’t come cheap. It is painful that one has to suffer and when competition comes they expect you to win a medal with your blood. The people you have to compete with had everything they needed: training grants, competitions and are exposed to the most modern equipment. I had nothing. You don’t expect such people who have invested so much to lose to one who don’t even train adequately.

If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard. The thrill of competing carries with it the thrill of a gold medal. One wants to win to prove himself the best.

I want an Olympic gold. My goal is 70m and I don't think it's a faraway target. I have good skills. I need more training, more inspiration, and more energy to boost myself. I have such a feeling that I can make it happen sometime in the future.

As a child, I'd wonder, 'When I die, will people still remember me 1,000 years later?' And without the gold medal … Well, the Olympics are the ultimate achievement in my sport. At times I think, 'Why should I push myself all those long hours in the rink?' But then I think, 'How will I ever know how good I could have been?' I want to be the Michael Jordan of my sport.

Having represented Nigeria twice at the Olympic games, I can confidently say it is unarguably the pinnacle of any athlete’s dream and getting a medal in such an epic event can be deemed to be one of the highest achievements and a dream come true that any athlete can hope for.

I will do all I can to win a medal [2012 Olympics]. To see the National flag go up while standing on the podium is the proudest moment in an athlete's life and I will want to experience that for myself in London. Please just keep praying for the entire Indian contingent. We have a really good chance of doing well at these Games and it will provide a huge fillip to Indian Olympic sport if we are all able to perform to potential.

I think, if I was an Olympic athlete, I would rather come in last than win the silver... if you think about it. Y'know, you win the gold, you feel good; you win the bronze, you think "Well, at least I got something." But you win that silver, that's like: "Congratulations! You... almost won." "Of all the losers, you came in first... of that group." "You're the number one... loser." "No one lost... ahead of you."

It is other people who want me to win medals.

It is a great feeling, having a bronze medal before and now silver, I hope they will soon award the silver medals to us. Even when we came back with the bronze in 2008, we didn’t even get a handshake or a congratulatory message but thank God today that I can now be addressed as Olympics silver medalist. That is the joy of the whole thing but it would have been better if the silver medal had been awarded right on the podium

I managed to win twice, but the Olympics are something special. The Olympic Games are what every athlete and figure skater wants to win. Winning them makes you a true champion.

I want to wear an Olympic gold medal, like the wrestler I admire the most Jordan Burroughs. I love his style. When I was young, I used to watch his videos for hours. I want to succeed like him

I am a hard worker and passionate young lady that happened to have little talent and would like to pursue my dream of having an Olympic medal for my country. I would like to share my experience with the young athletes back home to give them the hope and will to succeed by pursuing their dream.

Translation: Yes, I am an Olympic gold medalist now, but this medal cannot help the recovery in that region. I feel like I am helpless here. I feel like I am not making any contribution. I worked very hard to get this gold medal. That might be wonderful for me. Because I am a gold medalist in the Olympics, I think this can be the starting point for me. Perhaps there is something I can do for the recovery.

For me the ideal Olympics would be to go in with all that pressure, all that attention and have performances that are literally tear-jerking, that make people put their heads down because they’re embarrassed at how emotional they’re getting, that make people want to try sports, talk to their kids, call their f---ing ex-wives—and come away with no medals. I think that would be epic. That would be the perfect thing.