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.

People always accused me of not smiling like my rival Olga Korbut, but that was just my personality. When you're balancing on a nine-inch beam, you have to concentrate. But if you look back at the footage, I was always smiling and waving at the crowd after my performances.

I thought I was going to retire at 20, and I was going to be a surgeon.

I believe that you should gravitate to people who are doing productive and positive things with their lives.

I didn't know I wanted to be a gymnast; I was just introduced to the gym. I loved the place because it looked like a hi-tech playground with mats and a lot of things I can hang from.

I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.