Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete Quotations

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.