Dorothy Hamill

The mind is pretty powerful. In skating, you learn to click into that zone and focus not necessarily on what you're doing but if you're doing it well. ”

I was a bratty little sister. I was the youngest of three, and I often felt as though I didn't fit in. ”

My whole family, my father's side, there was a great deal of depression, and my mother's side as well. ”

Our family life, before figure skating turned it upside down, seemed normal. Our town of Riverside, Connecticut, was part of Greenwich, and we had the advantage of their wonderful community, with great beaches and beautiful parks. ”

My family had a membership to the Riverside Yacht Club where my brother, Sandy, learned to sail, and I competed in local swim races. My sister, Marcia, became a competitive springboard diver, and my brother excelled in water polo. ”

I always had short hair, and I hated my short hair. I was always mistaken for a boy, but my mom wouldn't let me change my hair because she was always chasing me around with a hairbrush, and it was always tangled, so she just would cut it off, and she's right: short hair did suit me. ”

I had the most incredible time on 'Dancing With the Stars.' It never occurred to me when I took it on that I would physically not be able to do it because that's not in an Olympic competitor's vocabulary! It was the most wonderful environment, such a nurturing environment. ”

My coach was a great politician, so he did most of the work. He was good. ”

Every time you go out on the ice, there are slight flaws. You can always think of something you should have done better. These are the things you must work on. ”