"Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect."

"It sounds funny, but the 2008 Olympics were something that just kind of happened, and I was lucky they came at a point when I was uninjured and well prepared. As a gymnast, you can't ask for much more."

"My parents- they've been my biggest influences and supporters since day one. They teach me every day that happiness comes from within and not from something outside of your heart."

"I'm trying to stay as calm as possible and focus one day at a time, but when reality sets in, I feel everything: anxiety, excitement, nerves, pressure and joy."

"Time is the most impartial judge; it reveals all pretenses and rewards all patience. Reflect upon this whenever doubt clouds your horizon — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"I am not wrong in the belief that its public funds are more secure than those of all the European powers."

"Thirty was a big deal for me. It was the age where I reevaluated everything - how I approached life and how I thought about myself. When I look at my 20s, or when I look at any period in my life, I think about how much time I've wasted trying to find the right man."

"It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right."