Carl Lewis

“I'm not a coach and I know it. I'm too busy and it doesn't pay. I'm expensive. But I would always advise.”

“I have no intention of lingering through a season, just to have a chance to be an alternate on a relay. I don't want that.”

“I'm a businessman and actor and I still make appearances.”

“You're not going to get a chance to vote for me on the ballot, but you can actually vote for what I believe in.”

“I tell you, it was kind of two-fold. I fortunately had a lot of support. My coach was amazing - he told me to focus on being prepared and that is what I did. Every athlete is nervous - any a...”

“I know there are a lot of people out there who have the best intentions but not the voice, so it's about people like me to give them a voice and hear their ideas.”

“I found the emotion that as an athlete you block out, and it really helped me to understand myself as a person. I'm a really emotional person and it helped make me a better person.”

“Most people want to become movie stars and I just want to be in the business. I already was a star. If I get the part of a lifetime and it blows up, then that's wonderful. But if the acting...”

“I'm very serious about becoming a dramatic actor. I don't want to play cameo parts walking on as Carl Lewis the athlete. I want to go on stage or screen and be taken seriously.”

“People have a moral standard about what they will do and will not do. At the end of the day someone who cheats has a lower moral standard than someone who does not. And they will cheat in ot...”

“There is no correlation between a childhood success and a professional athlete.”

“The people are fed up with their elected officials playing the blame game and treating their political counterparts as enemies.”

“I'm not supposed to be able to speak clearly, and decipher what's going on in the media. I'm supposed to be the typical amateur who's 22 and scared to death and can't believe he won the Olym...”

“Every New Year's Eve, I have a pact to do something I never thought I'd do. So I created this list. You have to free your mind to do things you wouldn't think of doing. Don't ever say no.”

“To this day, most people think of me as the fastest human. They don't really think me as a long jumper, although that's the event I had more success in.”

“I've always known that sporting people frequently suffer from joint problems because of the repeated strain they put on their bodies to get to the top. But somehow I never thought it would h...”

“I'm a fast learner. I may not run as fast as I used to, but I think I still learn as fast.”

“I'm not Carl Lewis the athlete any more. I'm growing into a new person with new interests and new goals.”

“I work with the Carl Lewis Foundation focusing on youth from high school down.”

“When I decided to go for four gold medals I planned it out over a few years. It was in four different events and there was a lot to it.”