Quotes from Nadia Comaneci

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.

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

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

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

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

I'm not a dreamer for, you know, 'I want to go to the moon someday.' I accomplished something when I was young, which was much more than I expected to. My results were much bigger than I ever dreamed about it.

I am a relaxed person. I am very happy.

Scoring the first 10 in history was a big deal, but the fact that even an electronic scoreboard could not figure out how to put out a score, it made the story more historic.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

Romania doesn't have a big tradition of gymnastics as a fun activity. We were a little behind in this aspect.

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.

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

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

Gymnastics was my way to travelling the world.

The - I don't want to say older, but the more experienced I get, I treasure and I honor what I've done much more.

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.

Of course I used to smile and laugh in 1976, but not when I was competing. Please show me somebody who laughs when they are concentrating; I always smiled.