“(On surviving on the raft for 47 days) We had truly made it on a wing and prayer.”

“I'd made it this far and refused to give up because all my life I had always finished the race.”

“Someone who doesn't make the (Olympic) team might weep and collapse. In my day no one fell on the track and cried like a baby. We lost gracefully. And when someone won, he didn't act like he'd just become king of the world, either. Athletes in my day were simply humble in our victory.I believe we were more mature then...Maybe it's because the media puts so much pressure on athletes; maybe it's also the money. In my day we competed for the love of the sport...In my day we patted the guy who beat us on the back, wished him well, and that was it.”

“Yet a part of you still believes you can fight and survive no matter what your mind knows. It's not so strange. Where there's still life, there's still hope. What happens is up to God.”

“It was all in His hands now - as it had always been.”

“All I knew was that hate was so deadly as any poison and did no one any good. You had to control and eliminate it, if you could.”

“The race film had confirmed a dead heat. That was great. But even better, most of the New York press finally learned to spell my name correctly.”