Diana Lopez

Growing up with three older brothers and being the youngest and the only girl, my mom always made me tough. She's taught me over the years how to be a strong, independent woman, how to carry yourself in a positive way and anything that my brothers can do, I can do. ”

Of course I want to bring home a gold medal, and that's what I'm planning on doing. For me, that's not pressure. It's a chance to show the world who I am. ”

It was natural for me to go to local tournaments with my mother and watch my brothers compete and sometimes be left with my mom at home while my dad would take my brothers away to different tournaments and competitions. So I started doing everything they did. ”

Do not sit next to my mother when she is watching one of her children compete because you will have fingernails down your back. She is a nervous wreck. ”

If people look at me and, certainly, my brothers, and they see strength and guts, they'd have to know my parents. If they wanted to know why we're so close as a family, that closeness comes from my mother and father. ”

I need that hug from my mom. She's the Latin mother that hugs you and says all these sweet things to you in Spanish. It's just comforting. She also gives me that strength. ”

It is pretty amazing. My parents, who came from Nicaragua to the U.S. - who would have thought that they would have American kids on the Olympic team? I think that's the epitome of the Olympic dream. ”

My parents sacrificed so much for all of us. It makes me want to give back to them by being the best I can be. ”

You know, me winning two gold medals, going for a third one, that's nice. But being there with Mark and my sister, and my brother being the coach, it's a dream come true. It's going to be awesome. ”

My mother was the oldest of nine children, five boys and four girls, so she had experience sharing responsibility for a large, sometimes loud group of kids. ”