Kristi Yamaguchi

Being an athlete, you know how to train and prepare your body for a performance and you're able to do it under pressure.

I've realized how precious life is. When I was younger, I was more adventurous. I felt invincible. I was game for everything. As a mom, I don't want to get injured because then I can't take care of my kids.

Now, I am thrilled to be a wife and mother, and I hope to be as good of a mother as my own mother, Carole.

I never wanted to feel I hadn't worked hard enough.

I've had a lot more fun with the training.

When I first skated here, I definitely felt small out there because it is such a big surface.

There are two or three performances in your life that are absolutely on, where all the planets are lined up for you and you feel you're invincible.

My experience at the 1992 Winter Olympics was my fulfillment of dreaming the Impossible Dream.

Skating was something I really wanted to do; my parents knew nothing about it. They said they'd support me as long as I was trying my hardest and enjoying it.

As a professional, I think we're not being judged solely on technical ability anymore. People really want to be entertained and enjoy what they're watching.

Winning in women's singles felt surreal. I felt that everything I had done - the hard work, the tough times - was all worth it.

I always try to start out with some type of goal. Then I work backward and think of what I need to do to get there, and give myself smaller goals that are more immediate.

Growing up as an athlete, I started skating very young. My parents didn't know anything about the sport, so they went with the flow. I had two great coaches who gave great advice and gave guidelines for my parents. My parents let the coaches dictate what was going on on the ice.

I burnt myself out of skating. I was ready to focus on being a mom.

As a teenager especially, I just wanted to do my thing and not be noticed.

I'd try to channel my nervous energy in a positive way into strength and endurance. It didn't always work.

Dorothy Hamill was my big idol as a kid. She'd won the Olympics in 1976. She was America's sweetheart with her personality, her talent, her haircut.

The past couple years training with Kurt have really brought inspiration into my skating.

They say, once you have a child, your heart is forever outside your body. I totally understand that now.

Before turning pro, I would never have just left my skates sitting in the locker room unattended.

Having achieved my own dreams, I want to give to kids who are less fortunate, who struggle with everyday obstacles. I want to give them something positive in their lives: support.

At 6 years old, the ice became a place for me to express myself. Because I was so shy off the ice, it became my safe haven, with music and freedom and self-expression. That was my emotional outlet.

I didn't want to skate for someone else or for certain marks.

I don't mind the sparkle - I think it's kind of a tradition in skating. I don't think the men really need sparkles, but for the women it's part of the glamour of our sport.

I don't know how many people really knew who I was before the Olympics and that's the fun thing of the Olympics - you get to know someone who captures your heart, hopefully.

This experience has been once in a lifetime.

Figure skaters have awful perceptions of hockey players.