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" I was turning actually 15 at the Olympics in '76... I don't think that one year makes a huge difference. "

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" Of course, I grew up in Communist Romania, but I am happy to say that now our country is democratic, and prospering, since the revolution in 1989. "

" I'm very good friends with my former coaches. We speak on the phone a lot. "

" It was good to be a kid because I did not realise all the things that came with the success. Going to the Games, I was asked what I expected to do. "

" I like to tell young people to work hard for your goals and live in the moment. "

" As an Olympic champion gymnast, I have always stayed involved in my sport. "

" 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. "

" I come from a wonderful country with wonderful people. "

" I always say I don't want to change anything in my life. "

" Now, I have a kid, I have businesses to take care of, I have to travel. I have to sit down... and find a little time for me. "

" I am not a perfect 10 anymore. I can only try my best. "

" Two days after returning from Montreal, I was training again, and I went on to win two more golds at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. "

" We developed a system in Romania that was very successfully continued for a number of years, but I don't know if it was because of some conflict in the organisation or whether there was government interference... but somehow, they have forgotten the importance of raising gymnasts to be ready for every Olympics. "

" 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. "

" My parents were very loving, but disciplinarians. "

" I know my life story sounds too extraordinary to be true. "

" I always say, 'When the Olympics are happening, you shouldn't be in any other place in the planet - you should be here.' "

" I ended up in the US for a month or so, before moving to Montreal with some Romanian friends. "

" I had more pressure when I competed in Moscow. I had no pressure in Montreal because I only went to do my routines and hoping I didn't mess it up when I was on the bar. When I came back, 10,000 people were at the airport and I thought, 'Why?' because, in my mind, I hadn't done anything different from what I used to do in my gym. "

" When I got married in Bucharest, there were 10,000 people on the street. People didn't go to work that day. It was emotional to see how people care about you. I didn't expect that. "

" Once you become an Olympic champion, you are expected to win all the time. "

" Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win. "

" I like America. I don't want to hurt America. "

" When I was 14, I had no pressure. I was a kid, and I didn't understand all the attention. "

" I wanted to have a free life. "

" When you go out of your country and meet people, you get a wider perspective. "

" 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 celebrity meant Hollywood, that's it. I began to see that does include Olympians. People have so much respect for Olympians. "

" I couldn't do everything in the first or second day; it took me years to be able to get to the achievement that I've had. I wasn't perfect from the beginning. "

" Other kids had more talent, but I was the most focused. "

" That's what everybody remembers. They don't remember how many medals I won in my career. They remember the 10s. "