Jackie Joyner-Kersee quotes:

All I ever wanted really, and continue to want out of life, is to give 100 percent to whatever I'm doing and to be committed to whatever I'm doing and then let the results speak for themselves. Also to never take myself or people for granted and always be thankful and grateful to the people who helped me.

I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 18 during my freshman year at UCLA. I refused to accept it - and I hid it from my coaches and teammates. But ignoring my problem didn't make it go away.

Teaching kids about health and fitness is important to me. It's about being fit for life.

We live in a world where sports have the potential to bridge the gap between racism, sexism and discrimination. The 2012 Olympic Games was a great start but hopefully what these games taught us is that if women are given an opportunity on an equal playing field the possibilities for women are endless.

When I started competing, you had to have your coach there. Now you can be coached from a home office via Skype or video. That's not the same as having them on the field with you.

I love track and field, but I also know the day will come when I will have to do something else.

It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.

It's better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret.

Competing in both track and field and basketball for the Bruins I have a lot of great memories to choose from. But my all-time favorite moment in collegiate sports has to be in 1982 when we won UCLA's first NCAA title in track.

"Competing in both track and field and basketball for the Bruins I have a lot of great memories to choose from. But my all-time favorite moment in collegiate sports has to be in 1982 when we won UCLA's first NCAA title in track."

Ask any athlete: We all hurt at times. I'm asking my body to go through seven different tasks. To ask it not to ache would be too much.

Girls playing sports is not about winning gold medals. It's about self-esteem, learning to compete and learning how hard you have to work in order to achieve your goals.

When I was in elementary school, we weren't allowed to do sports other than cheerleading. By junior high, they let us play, but we had to come back after 6:30 p.m. to practice because there was only one gymnasium and the boys used it first.

I'm a realist and I always have been. Quality training is what I do now; before it was a combination of both quality and quantity. Now I'm not trying to be a world-class athlete, I don't need to train at that level. It's about being fit, fit for life.

There are a lot of other people that really play a significant role in helping you become an Olympian.

It wasn't until I was 14 and watched the 1976 Olympic games on television that I really started to dream about the big time. I remember seeing Evelyn Ashford in the 100 meters, and she was going to UCLA.

My denial and irresponsible attitude about asthma put me at great risk and caused me so much needless suffering. My hope is that the kids I talk to learn to open up about their asthma, become educated about their condition, and seek help.

My passion for giving is no different than yours. I give because it's in my heart to give. I give because I was taught to give at a very early age. This is how I developed my passion for giving.

Quality training is what I do now; before it was a combination of both quality and quantity. Now I'm not trying to be a world-class athlete, I don't need to train at that level. It's about being fit, fit for life.

I might attempt Zumba. I haven't yet, but I thought it would be a lot of fun and different.

What people need to know is that asthma isn't a minor 'wheeze-disease.' It kills over five thousand people in America every year, and I could've been one of them.

The London games mark the 24th anniversary of my winning two golds and setting the world record in the heptathlon. Someone is going to want it; records are made to be broken - it's only a matter of time. I hope mine will outlive me.

There are few restrictions on your life with asthma, as long as you take care of yourself.

The glory of sport comes from dedication, determination and desire. Achieving success and personal glory in athletics has less to do with wins and losses than it does with learning how to prepare yourself so that at the end of the day, whether on the track or in the office, you know that there was nothing more you could have done to reach your ultimate goal.

People assuming that because I'm a great athlete, I can dance. But no. My rhythm is off a little bit.

People assume that because I'm a great athlete, I can dance. But no. My rhythm is off a little bit.

I really do miss playing basketball. I don't play a lot of pick-up games. But I do like using basketball as a form of cross training.

I've had asthma my entire life.

Give back in some way. Always be thoughtful of others.

Once I leave this earth, I know I've done something that will continue to help others.

Don't follow in any footprints, make your own prints. Because, you are the future of tomorrow.

Getting started as a volunteer anywhere can be a challenge to a lot of people. The biggest hurdle is that people think they have to give all of their spare time. But if you only have a half hour, you can still make a difference. Assisting with small tasks is invaluable.

The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing.

Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind.

Even though I'm not a competitive athlete, I have to still maintain things and try to keep myself fit because I am at that age where I need to make sure to get those regular checkups and make sure everything is in tact.

I do not take steroids. I never have. It's sad to me that people want to point fingers. I don't do that. That's not me. I wouldn't feel like a human being.

As you grow older and young people come up to you with their history books, you realize that some of the things I have been able to do have been impactful. But for me, I try to keep everything in perspective and stay humble.

There are many women who came before me who didn't really have the same opportunities that I have had. That's why I always wanted to be a great ambassador - not only today's generation - but for the women who really didn't have a voice, but who paved the way for me.

I'm not shy. I'm modest, but I'm very outgoing.

I have this burning desire to get out there and do my best. It's as if I'm keeping it all in a little bottle, and it's all going to come out when I do the best I'm capable of doing.

Winning is great, but being able to finish my last Olympic Games on American soil was very important. Even though I was injured, I didn't let my psyche get the best of me and cause me to doubt myself, so I was willing to pull every muscle in my body in '96 in order to get the job done and I came away with the bronze medal.

Some people are embarrassed to say they came from East St. Louis, Ill., but now more people want to claim it. I grew up in a community center and I knew what it gave me. I always knew I wanted to give back and help people because people helped me.

The person who talks a lot or talks over people misses out because they weren't listening.

I learned to listen and listen very well. It helped me athletically and in the classroom as well. The person who talks a lot or talks over people misses out because they weren't listening.

I don't think there is a perfect athlete. But if I had to come close to picking someone who demonstrates all the traits that I feel an athlete should have, I would say the perfect athlete would be Tiger Woods. He has the ability, he's humble and he's very good at what he does.

The 2012 London Olympic Games fostered a generation of hope. I witnessed women participating for the very first time, representing every nation.

It's important to me to try and expose young people to the things they believe are off-limits to them. I tell them, 'There are no walls, only the ones we put up.' My advice to young people looking at my life is not to follow my footprint but to go out there and make their own.

I would like 'I Dream of Genie' powers.

Growing up in the time of Title IX - it was passed when I was 10 - I got a front-row seat to so many great moments in women's sports. Of course I didn't know it at the time.

I learned to listen and listen very well. It helped me athletically and in the classroom as well.

Society always needs a level playing field. In order to do that, you have to have opportunity, and providing that opportunity begins with 'how do we bridge that gap,' that so-called Digital Divide? How can we get internet into every home possible?

If I stop to kick every barking dog I am not going to get where I'm going.

I don't think being an athlete is unfeminine. I think of it as a kind of grace.

For me it's the challenge -- the challenge to try to beat myself or do better than I did in the past. I try to keep in mind not what I have accomplished but what I have to try to accomplish in the future.

I maintained my edge by always being a student; you will always have something new to learn.

The only person who can stop you from reaching your goals is you.

There is something about seeing myself improve that motivates and excites me.

I always keep myself in a position of being a student.

I'm always challenged by someone.

I set my sights on making an Olympic team, not realizing how tough it was going to be.

I'm a realist and I always have been.

Even at 10 or 12, I was a hot, fast little cheerleader.

I don't have to be enemies with someone to be competitors with them.

I'm more of a hands-on person. I like working with young people from the standpoint of providing support for the grassroots programs. State, national and Olympic champions begin at a grassroots level.

Even if the person doesn't know what the internet can do, we can bring it to them and show how it can make a difference in their lives.

The greatest finish line for me was finishing college - it was a pact I made with my mother, during a time when she fell ill. That happened during my Freshman year, and unfortunately she never saw me compete in the Olympics. But she really wanted me to finish college, because she never finished Junior High.