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" I just love playing so much, competing so much. You're able to put your losses behind you. One of the greatest attributes a decathlete can have is the ability to forget... to look ahead, not behind. "

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" I think what my parents did was perfect. They were strict, concerned about my safety and held me back just a little. "

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" It's important for me to think I'm mixed-race. "

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Important

Think

" I was playing little league baseball when Bruce Jenner was winning the gold but I don't think I was really paying attention at that time. "

" And there is such a thing as a decathlon high. It's like a rock rolling down hill, picking up momentum. You get better and better. "

" When I was little, I wasn't allowed to put sugar on my breakfast cereal because it made me so hyper. "

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" It really means a lot that I won the gold medal - but I woke up the next morning expecting to feel different. I felt the same. "

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Different

Feel

" I got interested in decathlon because a coach that I had was a big fan of Bruce Jenner, and he just saw the ability in me - but when it came down to it, I knew my best chance at a college scholarship would be in track and field. "

" Through everything I've gone through- and I've been everywhere, at the top of the world, in jail, hung over drunk - I never gave up my dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics. "

" It took me time to realize that the men who won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon are just men, just like me. "

" If you never give up, you'll be successful. "

" Take pride in exactly what it is you do and remember it's okay to fail as long as you don't give up. "

" As athletes, we're defined by what we've accomplished. Those are what most people remember and what you get paid for. But I learned more from my failures than from all of my successes put together - failures as an athlete and as a person. "

" As a young athlete, it was first about having fun; then it was about winning. "

" There is nothing better than having a personal-best day, being in shape and pushing myself beyond my own limits. "

" I call myself a chameleon. "

" I've always had to have some kind of failure before I was successful. "

" You need to become more than one type of athlete. You have to be a sprinter, a weight man and a distance guy all in one. "

Dan O'Brien

You

Man

" The decathlon includes ten separate events and they all matter. You can't work on just one of them. "

" You have to be able to be a good loser. You have to be okay knowing you're going to fail every day in something without getting mad and upset. "

" I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a juggler; you have ten balls and you're trying to get them all in the air at the same time. "

" To me, the decathlon is its own little society and I am part of that culture. "

Dan O'Brien

Own

Society

" Try everything, because you're never sure what you're going to be great at. "

" Breaking the world record in '92 was a very special personal moment, but I'd say my favorite moment as a decathlete was winning the Olympic gold medal. "

" When first starting to work with someone you try to get them in the same mindset that you were in when you were successful, and I realized the best thing you can ever do is realize that they are not you. They have a different persona and mindset, and you have to figure out what works best within your communication with that athlete. "