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" In Montreal, I kept thinking, 'Pay attention: this is the Olympics! It only happens once every four years!' "

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

" 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 used to tell people if they looked at a map, it was right in the middle of the United States. But now everybody knows Oklahoma because of the Thunder and their success. I don't know if I'll get 'Why?' anymore. "

" I am a relaxed person. I am very happy. "

" I was a perfectionist in gymnastics. "

" Near the end of my career, I saw things that didn't make too much sense to me when I was a kid. "

" 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 like risky stuff. "

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

" One of the most difficult times in my life was when I escaped from Romania in November of 1989. "

" 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. "

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

" My parents were very loving, but disciplinarians. "

" I made the cover of 'Sports Illustrated,' 'Newsweek' and 'Time' all in one week, and I didn't even know what that meant. "

" Gymnastics was my way to travelling the world. "

" We only had white socks in Romania. But when I used to come back from the States, I used to bring back pink and yellow socks with all kind of designs, and hair clips and elastic bands for the ponytail that had colourful designs. "

" Life is not easy for anyone. You have to have ups and downs. You can make mistakes. You learn and try not to make them again. That's pretty much my principle. "

" I tell people, 'Have you ever been to Oklahoma? There are a lot of nice people there that do wonderful things.' "

" My mother never watched me train in Romania. She wasn't allowed, it just wasn't done back then. My training was paid for by the government. My parents were not at the Olympics with me, either. I never expected them to be. "

" To me, family is what is important. If you don't have it, nothing is going to matter. "

" When you're growing up, you realize you've got a lot of heavy things on your shoulders. "

" I'm the kind of person, I leave a little space for better. "

" Two gold medals and two silver, I don't think is that bad... I think I still did a pretty good job. "

" I work out every day, but my idea is to make something short. I work out a maximum half hour. I only do like 20 minutes of cardio, and I do some stretching and some light weights, and I'm out of there. "

" I like seeing advanced acrobatics, but I also like to see more than tumbling. It's important to combine the artistry of gymnastics with the tough skills. It's called artistic gymnastics. We should stand by the name. "

" My marriage to my husband, Bart Conner in 1996 is my proudest personal moment. "

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

" I had a lot of energy, and my mom decided to look for a place where I can spend the energy, because I was jumping on the couch and furniture, and I was jumping on the top of the things in the house. "

" 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. "

" Every generation comes with a unique athlete, I don't think anybody wants to be the next Nadia; they want to be themselves. "