Dan O'Brien

After the failure in '92, my goal was to be a good pole vaulter. I used that as motivation. ”

As a young athlete, it was first about having fun; then it was about winning. ”

Through everything I've gone through- and I've been everywhere, at the top of the world, in jail, hung over drunk - I never gave up my dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics. ”

I think what my parents did was perfect. They were strict, concerned about my safety and held me back just a little. ”

It really means a lot that I won the gold medal - but I woke up the next morning expecting to feel different. I felt the same. ”

As athletes, we're defined by what we've accomplished. Those are what most people remember and what you get paid for. But I learned more from my failures than from all of my successes put together - failures as an athlete and as a person. ”

It's important for me to think I'm mixed-race. ”

You have to be able to be a good loser. You have to be okay knowing you're going to fail every day in something without getting mad and upset. ”

Take pride in exactly what it is you do and remember it's okay to fail as long as you don't give up. ”

I just love playing so much, competing so much. You're able to put your losses behind you. One of the greatest attributes a decathlete can have is the ability to forget... to look ahead, not behind. ”