Olympic Gold changed me and my life dramatically. I became a celebrity overnight and people see me as a famous skater, not a real person.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
When I saw the 2010 Games and speed skating, I had a change of heart. I had always dreamed of being an Olympian, and something clicked inside of me. I knew I had to move to Salt Lake City and make this dream a reality.
I was like, 'I don't know if I could be an Olympian...' But my dad really influenced me to stay and be in the Olympics.
I never ever wanted to change my sport... Figure skating was my outlet, it was my breath, it was how I could live and transmit everything I was feeling and everything I had worked for and given up and all these sacrifices I'd made throughout the years. It was how I could make them all worth it.
I didn't get into skating to be famous.
When I was younger, I always dreamed of being a legend, to be remembered in figure skating.
The Olympics were life-changing for me. I felt I went in as a girl and came out as a woman.
I feel like at the Olympics I gave the best performance of my life and I wasn't rewarded for that as an athlete. Yes, my fans and my mom were happy about it, but I didn't win that gold medal.
To win Olympic gold has been a dream for me for seven or eight years now, so it was amazing to actually achieve that.
I still can't believe I'm an Olympic athlete.
People could see in me who I am now, an Olympic champ, the best in the world.