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Before me, sprinters retired at 23 or 24. I run because I still like it, I can make a living, and I feel I was born to do it. And because people tell me I can't do it.

I was running track early in my years and I was breaking track records in sprint running. I was training and I wanted to be in the Olympics. I thought I was going to be able to win a gold medal, and my mind was pretty much set on 'this is what I want to do'.

I just wanted to be an athlete.

As a kid, I was a pretty good little sprinter.

When I picked athletics, I knew I wanted to be an Olympic champion.

I don't have a sprinter's body.

When I hit New York in 1972, I thought I was a sprinter. I thought that I would star in a Broadway show and do a movie and win an Oscar by the time I was 25. It turned out that I'm a long distance runner.

I always wanted to be a professional athlete. I love my life.

I always wanted to be Olympic champion and do clean programs.