Quotes from Dan O'Brien

As a young child, I was never a crier. I never cried to get my way, or even when I was in pain.

As athletes, we're defined by what we've accomplished. Those are what most people remember and what you get paid for. But I learned more from my failures than from all of my successes put together - failures as an athlete and as a person.

And there is such a thing as a decathlon high. It's like a rock rolling down hill, picking up momentum. You get better and better.

When I was little, I wasn't allowed to put sugar on my breakfast cereal because it made me so hyper.

I call myself a chameleon.

You need to become more than one type of athlete. You have to be a sprinter, a weight man and a distance guy all in one.

It really means a lot that I won the gold medal - but I woke up the next morning expecting to feel different. I felt the same.

I just love playing so much, competing so much. You're able to put your losses behind you. One of the greatest attributes a decathlete can have is the ability to forget... to look ahead, not behind.

After the failure in '92, my goal was to be a good pole vaulter. I used that as motivation.

To me, the decathlon is its own little society and I am part of that culture.

The decathlon includes ten separate events and they all matter. You can't work on just one of them.

I always know where the scissors are.

There is nothing better than having a personal-best day, being in shape and pushing myself beyond my own limits.

As a young athlete, it was first about having fun; then it was about winning.

Through everything I've gone through- and I've been everywhere, at the top of the world, in jail, hung over drunk - I never gave up my dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics.

You know why divorce costs so much? Because it is worth it!

It took me time to realize that the men who won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon are just men, just like me.

Breaking the world record in '92 was a very special personal moment, but I'd say my favorite moment as a decathlete was winning the Olympic gold medal.

When my world record got broken in 1999, it hurt a little bit, to say the least. But I was in a leg brace at the time and I had just had knee surgery and I couldn't do anything about it.

Breaking the world record in '92 was a very special personal moment, but I'd say my favorite moment as a decathlete was winning the Olympic gold medal. It was a lot of years of work, and when I won it, it was more a sense of relief than jubilation or exaltation.

I was playing little league baseball when Bruce Jenner was winning the gold but I don't think I was really paying attention at that time.

Take pride in exactly what it is you do and remember it's okay to fail as long as you don't give up.

I was playing little league baseball when Bruce Jenner was winning the gold, but I don't think I was really paying attention at that time. It wasn't until 1980 - I think I was 12 years old - that I thought, 'Wow that's what I want to do. I want to be on the Olympic team.'

I got interested in decathlon because a coach that I had was a big fan of Bruce Jenner, and he just saw the ability in me - but when it came down to it, I knew my best chance at a college scholarship would be in track and field.