How we cite our quotes: (Book)
Quote #1
I couldn't do it. I got halfway up the incline, and I lost my breath. My bike wobbled beneath me, and I stopped, and put my feet down on the pavement. I felt faint. […] After a few minutes, I gradually recovered my breath. I sat up, and tried to pull myself together. I stood. I tentatively straddled my bike. My legs felt shaky, but I was able to ride downhill. We coasted very slowly back the way we came, and made our way back to my house. […] The chemo had attacked my blood relentlessly ever two weeks, Monday through Friday, and I had finally overdone the bike riding. I paid for it that day. But I didn't stop riding. (It's Not About the Bike)
Woof. We think undergoing chemotherapy and several serious surgeries are a pretty decent excuse to not go for a bike ride. (In fact, we consider it a free pass to sit around and watch all the Netflix our hearts desire.) But Armstrong wasn't about to let a little cancer get in his way.
Quote #2
The Olympic goal had continued to tantalize him. Because, without a chance to compete in the Olympics, his rowing career seemed incomplete, he had decided to stay with the sport for one more shot, the 1984 Olympics. (The Amateurs)
Even though Tiff Wood had already been selected to participate in two previous Olympic games, he never got to row a single stroke (he was an alternate in 1976, but no one got sick or injured, and in 1980 President Carter demanded an American boycott of the Olympics). Most people might've shrugged and decided that the fates were against them, maybe the Olympics weren't meant to be. Not Wood. He was going to give it everything he had and more, because that's what it means to be an Olympic athlete.
Quote #3
It's called a kip, and it's one of the toughest skills a gymnast first learns on the uneven bars. The kip begins with pulling yourself up to the low bar in a swing glide, bringing your toes to the bar, hoisting your hips up, and finally holding your whole upper body above the bar. The skill, which can be used to either mount the bar or connect elements in a routine, is a big part of just about every level of competition. That makes it a must-do skill. And in May 2003, I was failing at it. Big time. (Grace, Gold, and Glory)
No Olympian gets on the podium by giving up when the going gets tough. It's hard to believe that Gabby Douglas—the girl who flew her way to gold—once struggled to do one of the basic moves that makes up gymnastic bar routines. And to hear her tell her story, one would think she could've done triple-back-handsprings right out of the womb.
But even Gabby Douglas had a hard time learning how to do certain things. With hours of practice, dedication, and a few older girls giving her tips, she eventually mastered the skill.