Quotes by Jackie Joyner-Kersee

“Ask any athlete: We all hurt at times. Im asking my body to go through seven different tasks. To ask it not to ache would be too much.”

“Success for an athlete follows many years of hard work and dedication.”

“Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete.”

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

“Some men can run the fastest, jump the highest, or lift the heaviest, but no man has the corner on ambition, desire, and hustle.”

“Once I leave this earth, I know Ive done something that will continue to help others.”

“dont want to put that capital in there, we cant force them as human beings. We cant do that.”

“That goes for whites, too, ... If I made all this money and I want money invested here, I have a right to do that. That is my choice. That is why we live in America, because we have choices.”

“In order to meet the challenge, you have to have that support,”

“We want to raise $10 million, and we have $4 million so far, ... We want to open next April.”

“I played four years at UCLA but I didnt think (womens) basketball was going anyplace at the time,”

“It tells us story and theres a lot more we want to add to the collection like letters from the president.”

For me its the challenge-the challenge to try to beat myself or do better than I did in the past. I try to keep in mind not what I have accomplished but what I have to try to accomplish in the future.

The medals dont mean anything and the glory doesnt last. Its all about your happiness. The rewards are going to come but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing.

I dont think being an athlete is unfeminine. I think of it as a kind of grace.

I always keep myself in a position of being a student.

My denial and irresponsible attitude about asthma put me at great risk and caused me so much needless suffering. My hope is that the kids I talk to learn to open up about their asthma, become educated about their condition, and seek help.

We live in a world where sports have the potential to bridge the gap between racism, sexism and discrimination. The 2012 Olympic Games was a great start but hopefully what these games taught us is that if women are given an opportunity on an equal playing field the possibilities for women are endless.

Age is no barrier. Its a limitation you put on your mind.

The London games mark the 24th anniversary of my winning two golds and setting the world record in the heptathlon. Someone is going to want it records are made to be broken - its only a matter of time. I hope mine will outlive me.