He was withdrawing. I think it was getting harder for him to accept his fate. Like a bird in a cage, he grew silent.
For me, the vast marvel is to be alive. For man, or for flowers or beast or bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly and perfectly alive.
I have a taekwondo background, but I also try to invent new moves and make sure that when I step into the Octagon, I'm a different fighter.
Many track and field people know that if I stay relaxed and run my race like I'm supposed to, I will be the winner at the Olympic Games.
I know, I'm like a kid. Maybe I was a bit too spoilt growing up. Everything just came like I wanted it to.
When I'm older, I want to have my own workout clothes line, like leggings and cute jackets in bright and fun colors.
Yes, I am the Olympic champion, but this is not the end of it. I want all the gold that there is out there, everything that exists in figure skating. In all events, in all competitions.
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.
And I want a gold medal more than anything. I just want a gold medal, so that's been pushing me forward.
As a gymnast, you always wear spandex. Being a teenager wearing spandex? It was tough accepting how my body looked, especially if there was any weight gain.
I like that my body is in shape and toned, and isn't too muscular. I feel I still have a woman's physique.
I'm not a religious person; I'm more of a spiritual person, so I follow the rules of the Bible that coordinate with and connect with the Hebrew culture.
My writing often contains souvenirs of the day - a song I heard, a bird I saw - which I then put into the novel.
I live in California, so I do stand-up paddle board, which is a killer workout. I also run, about four miles every three days.
The fact that an icon would even utter my name or have any idea of who I am is absolutely unreal.
It just comes kind of naturally to me to take something and try and make it relatable and interesting to someone who doesn't know everything about skating.
I never think about records. I focus on my race and try to get onto the podium consistently. It's hard enough to do that.
When I'm starting a race, I just completely narrow down my vision and focus on what's directly ahead of me.
You have to be a student of the game to be successful, and it's promising when you can say that, with a world-record performance, I still have things to improve on!
I train six to seven hours every single day. I wake up six days a week and know that it's going to be the same thing.
For so long I wanted to win the gold medal. Then I won. I had to figure out what was the new motivation to take myself to that place again.
