Ashton Eaton

I haven't played a full round of golf yet, but I did make two pars my first time out on a golf course.

There's never going to be a decathlon that you're going to have 10 events that your satisfied with. You're always, always going to be dissatisfied in something, and that always draws you back to try to retry that the next time you do a decathlon. It's like you go for the perfect 10.

The first sport I played was baseball. I remember being on the Little League team and someone pitching the ball to me for the first time. I was ready to no longer hit the ball off the tee, and an adult pitched it to me underhand.

Universities are like a utopia in a way, because you're mentally stimulated, you're challenged, and you have a lot of young, creative minds wanting to do new things, different things. Better things.

Know that even when you want to give up or throw in the towel, in the end it will all be worth the hard work.

If I really felt like I was the world's greatest athlete, I'd get 10 great events. But I know that's pretty much not possible. That's the toughness of the decathlon.

From the age of seven, I basically started practicing my hand-eye and foot coordination, balance, strength, endurance, discipline, and mental toughness three days a week until I was about 15.