I had already been into my professional career for six years and had not won an individual gold medal at the Olympics. There was a tremendous amount of pressure going into 1996 to get it done.

One of the main techniques I used was focusing on the goal and visualising myself competing in the race before the race started.

You can't control what the other athlete is going to do; you can't control anything except for your competition and how you execute the race or how you execute the task.

Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me - I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us.

For some in Washington, it's become sport to pick on the federal workforce. I think they do so unjustly. The very foundation of a stable America is having a government that functions well. Many countries have dysfunctional governments, because they don't have a good government workforce.

I play basketball. I play center, and if you haven't watched me play, I'm not a regular big man. I can move my feet. Not saying I can stop anyone out there who's in front of me, but trust me: I can really be a problem on the perimeter guarding somebody.

Sports entertainment in general, it's a very competitive business.

I'm a professional athlete - one who's supposed to set examples - so whatever it is I put in my body, it's up to me to take responsibility for it, and I have done that.