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

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

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

My parents were very loving, but disciplinarians.

Of course, most people remember that I received the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics competition.

I have had a few turning points, the first day I entered a gymnastics school at age 6.

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

You should also appreciate the goodness around you, and surround yourself with positive people.

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

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

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 worked hard in gymnastics since the time I was six years old until I retired at 23 years of age.

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

I believe that you should gravitate to people who are doing productive and positive things with their lives.

We are not coaching on a daily basis because we often travel with our charity and commercial interests.

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.

After retiring from competition in 1981, I did exhibitions and coached.

At 14, you think you compete, you retire and you get a job. I didn't think gymnastics was a career that was going to change my life.

At some particular time, when I was 14 years old, I've done something that people didn't expect.

At the end of the day, I just want to see good gymnastics!

Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don't lose the passion and the love for what you do.

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

Everything I do today is because of what I did when I was 14.

Gymnastics is so huge in the Olympics. There are a lot of fans who want to see more.

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

Gymnastics was my way to travelling the world.

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

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

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

I am very highly appreciated in my country, and everybody seems to love me.

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 cannot change anything, so I don't want to think about what I would have done.

I come from a communist country. We learned nothing of lawyers, nothing about rights.

I come from a wonderful country with wonderful people.

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.

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 didn't realize that winning the Olympics at age 14 automatically put me in the category of being a celebrity.

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

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.

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.

I have a classic taste with a twist, because classic never goes away.

I hoped to win a medal and hoped it would be gold. I knew I was good but didn't know I would be the one to score something that had never been done before.

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

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

I like Oklahoma. It's a quiet place. You can work, and nobody disturbs you.

I like risky stuff.

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.

I live in the moment. I can turn the page and move on.

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