Quotes from Nadia Comaneci

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

If I have a feeling of not trusting, I don't get too close.

My message to the ladies would be, you can do all of the things, but not all of them at the same time.

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

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.

When I went into the Montreal Games, nobody expected much out of me.

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

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

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

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.

When I was 14, I had no pressure. I was a kid, and I didn't understand all the attention.

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

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.

Work hard for your goals and live in the moment.

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

It feels good when you come to a place like Oklahoma to charge up the batteries. I need that.

It's like someone important is missing from a party because you can't imagine an Olympic gymnastics competition without Romania.

Once you become an Olympic champion, you are expected to win all the time.

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

Two days after returning from Montreal, I was training again, and I went on to win two more golds at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

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

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.'