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

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

" People assume a lot of things about gymnasts - that the girls work too hard, it's way too much for them, they are too young to work so hard. "

" 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. "

" I never thought I would be standing here, married to an All-American guy, living in Oklahoma. What a country. "

" People think you have pressure when you are young. It's the other way round, actually. "

" It was my mother who got me involved in gymnastics, sending me to classes when I was six just to stop me doing back flips on the couch and destroying the furniture. "

" I would love to be in 'Dancing With the Stars.' "

" I basically have my life today as a result of what I did as a child. What did I miss out on? Yeah, I missed not hanging out at shopping malls, I guess, but that is not a big deal because you don't get a medal for that. "

" 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. "

" It's very hard to get to the top. It's hardest to stay at the top. "

" I don't think many people consider in their heart that they have two places that are home. "

" I remember everything from 1976. I remember I was 14, and I remember my routines. "

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

" 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. "

" Gymnastics should be popular everywhere; you just need the right person to start the right programme. "

" 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. "

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

" You can't jump from little things to big things. It just takes time and patience. "

" 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. "

" What can you know about life at 14? I have learned a lot since, but you learn slowly. You get hit by many things and try to make sense of it. "

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

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

" I was a perfectionist in gymnastics. "

" Nellie Kim, an Olympic champion from the former Soviet Union, got a 10 right after me in '76, but nobody talks about that. "

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

" I remember before the Olympics, I was asked, 'What do you think you're going to do in the Olympics?' and I said, 'I'm hoping I'm going to win a medal, and, if possible, it's going to be a gold one.' "

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

" When I look back, I am happy that my mum took me to the gymnastics club. I didn't join gymnastics to become a famous athlete or celebrity; it just happened - I did more than I expected, of course. "

" I wasn't allowed to leave Romania. That made me mad. You just want your freedom. You want your space. You want opportunity. "