"Heck, gold medals, what can you do with them?"

"One thing is having skated five of the best races I've probably could have skated. It was nice to peak at the right time and to do it in an important time in somebody's career."

"I'd rather get a nice warmup suit. That's something I can use. Gold medals just sit there. When I get old, maybe I could sell them if I need the money."

"Immediately after the Olympics, I was pretty fatigued."

"I mean you got to thank your parents for giving you the right genes."

"Then going out on the ice usually about 15 minutes before and certain things I would do for the different races, aspects that you run through your mind."

"In general, I enjoy athletes who have a strong character who let their abilities speak for themselves."

"Sports and politics don't mix."

"You don't really want to load up a whole lot, probably anything more than four hours before the race. I needed something to make me feel full, but I certainly didn't want it to make me feel stuffed."

"We had a party with the rest of the skaters in our trailer and then the next day we were off to see Jimmy Carter. And then we had the World Championships the next weekend, so not a lot of chance to catch up."

"I didn't get into skating to be famous."

"They're just big in the eyes of the American public."

"I have a very close friendship with the skaters."

"We used to lift weights a couple of times a week, we did a lot of running. I enjoyed the variety."

"It's not a sport you get famous at. If I wanted to be famous, I would have stuck with hockey."

"I would recommend anybody who gets a chance to see short track skating, make it a point to go out there when Apolo is skating because you won't see anybody better."