Quotes from Games

Editor's Note:

Shanghai Daily's Olympics reporter Ma Yue has finished her unforgetable stint in Beijing and is flying back to Shanghai today. Before she joined the swarm of travelers at Beijing International Airport today, she sent us some of the quotes that took her fancy during the 16 days. This is how the athletes saw the Games.

 

Athletics

 

"I am 67 years old now. I have trained a lot of athletes for our country. Some of the athletes could not even run at first. It was I who taught them to run and finally, to fly."
- Coach Raul Barreda (MEX) takes credit for his athletes' success.

 

"As athletes, we have ups and downs. Unfortunately, you can't pick the days they come on."

- Deena Kastor (USA) after pulling out of the women's marathon with a foot injury.

 

"I can't wait to get to the medal stand tomorrow. Oh, that reminds me. I've got some laundry to do so I have something clean to wear on the medal stand."
- Men's 1,500m bronze medalist Nicholas Willis (NZL) keeps his feet firmly on the ground shortly after becoming New Zealand's first medalist in the event since John Walker won gold at Montreal 32 years ago.

 

"Tourism is the biggest industry on the island, and you can't pay for this kind of advertising."
- Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games 100m gold medalist Donovan Bailey (CAN) on the impact sprinter Usain Bolt (JAM) will have on the Carbbean nation.

 

"I wanted to win so badly I had to stop myself from running."
- Gold medalist Alex Schwazer (ITA) on the men's 50km walk.

 

Badminton

 

"They probably looked at the draw and said 'shit', well, maybe 'shit' in Chinese."
- Gail Emms (GBR) on how Zheng Bo (CHN) and Gao Ling (CHN) would have reacted to their mixed doubles draw.

 

Basketball

 

"Do you know motion offense? Motion, motion, motion. My team is very small in size - but has motion, motion, motion."
- South Korea coach Jung Duk Hwa explains his tactics against the taller, bigger Russians.

 

"A nine-in-the-morning game is unusual for us. Fortunately, we woke up first. At half time, we decided to go to sleep. And Iran woke up."
- David Michael Blatt (ISR), coach of the Russian men's basketball team.

 

"We pretend it is our crowd and they are cheering for us."
- New Zealand women's basketball coach Mike McHugh (NZL) on whether the fans will be a factor in their August 13 match against China.

 

Beach Volleyball

 

"Now we start from scratch, killing one lion a day."
- Renata Ribeiro (BRA) on reaching the round of 16.

 

Boxing

 

"It's like a vicious cycle. They want the athlete to produce. If they don't produce they won't get money and without money we cannot produce. It's like the chicken and the egg."
- Canadian coach Charlie Stewart on the difficulties boxing is facing in Canada.

 

Cycling

 

"I liken it to a NASCAR race. We turn left for a living."
- Michael Blatchford (USA) trying to explain his sport to non-cycling fans.

 

Diving

 

"Making the finals in three events has shown that Colombia has potential. We have a great team but we also need an indoor pool to be able to train more."
- Juan guillermo Uran (COL) bemoans his local training facilities, after leaving the men's 10m plaform semifinal.

 

Equestrian

 

"I am not satisfied. I find the horse a bit tense and he finds every flower-pot terrifying."
- Daisy Dick (GBR) on her dressage performance.

 

Fencing

 

"He's a gangster. It was a street combat."
- Fabrice Jeannet (FRA) on his tough men's individual epee round of 64 bout against Sergey Katchurin.

 

"It was tough not having my coach here. Kothny is a sabre fencer and I'm a foil fencer, so he couldn't give me any advice at all."
- Nontapat Panchan (THA) on having teammate Wiradech Kothny instead of his coach on the sidelines.

 

"We are usually the underdogs and sometimes the big guys fall asleep on us."
- Erinn Smart (USA) after USA's 31-30 victory over Poland in the women's team foil quarterfinals.

 

Football

 

"Usually I play Playstation with my roommate Sergio Aguero (ARG). If (tennis players) David Nalbandian (ARG) and Juan Monaco (ARG) want to play football against us we will give them a chance."
- Messi (ARG) on how he relaxes in the Athlete's Village.

 

Handball

 

"Someone had to take the ugly shirt. Today it was me."
- Danish centerback Joachim Rietveld Boldsen on having to play in the goal.

 

Hockey

 

"The rains complicated things a little bit for us, but this doesn't change anything. If it rains again, we will just get wet."
- Argentina coach Gabriel Minadeo on the rain during the women's hockey preliminary 2-2 draw with USA.

 

Judo

 

"My parents never pushed me into it, so I won't push him. But he is on his way - he's already kicking."
- Brian Olson (USA) on the chances of his unborn son becoming a judoka.

 

"She was doing a lot of false attacks, and I was wondering what she was doing."
- Urszula Sadkowska (POL) after a loss to Gulzhan Issanova (KAZ) in a 78kg women's judo preliminary.

 

Rowing

 

"I was sitting on a bus with Steven Waugh (former Australian cricket captain) and he said when he walked out he felt proud with 10 other guys behind him, but it's going to be unbelievable when you have 430 behind you."
- James Tomkins (AUS) on being his nation's flag bearer.

 

Shooting

 

"I'm still getting to my prime, I'm just maturing with age, you know, like good wine."
- Warren Potent (AUS) after winning bronze in the men's 50m rifle prone at 46.

 

Swimming

 

"Are you talking to me (pointing at his face)? Do you read an expression of disappointment? Come on, I'm vice-Olympic champion."
- Frederick Bousquet (FRA) is more than happy with silver in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay.

 

"Male bees live for one moment, then they die. For us swimmers this moment comes only once every four years."
- Markus Rogan (AUS) on the importance of his upcoming races in the men's 200m backstroke.

 

"He is just a normal person, although he may be from a different planet. A planet from a different galaxy."
- Alexander Sukhorukov (RUS) on Michael Phelps (USA).

 

"Now I can put all my energy into it, fighting this battle (with cancer). I'm going to attack it the same way I did swimming, and I'm going to get it the hell out of me."
- Eric Shanteau (USA) on his decision to swim despite being diagnosed with cancer.

 

"If I went any faster I probably would have to get drug tested."
- Aaron Peirsol (USA) on his 200m men's backstroke semifinal swim.

 

"It's not bad luck to swim with him. It's a privilege. I'm part of history."
- Thiago Pereira (BRA) on competing with Phelps.

 

"Maybe I shouldn't have filed my nails last night."
- Dara Torres (USA) after Britta Steffen (GER) beat her by 0.01 second for the gold medal in the women's 50m freestyle.

 

"He's a ship and the rest of us are yachts, and you have to find your way around that big old vessel."
- Competitor Mark Warkentin (USA) on what sets men's 10km marathon swimming gold medalist Maarten van der Weijden (NED) apart from the rest of the pack.

 

Table Tennis

 

"I really don't like the nickname because it is easy to be fragile. Maybe 'Iron Doll' is more suitable for me."
- Ai Fukuhara (JPN) on her nickname "Porcelain Doll".

 

"I would rather play than be a coach in charge of the others. Players abroad are generally lazy, they come at 10:30 when you told them 10 and you have to come to the venue 15 minutes before everybody else and be the last one to leave."
- On why 46-year-old He Zhiwen (CHN) is playing at the Olympics rather than coaching.

 

Tennis

 

"When I knew the draw I was in Chinese Taipei. I was in the airport and I thought I should take my luggage and go home. But I'm happy to be here. I said that I'll come, I'll try my best, and maybe I can learn something from Andy. So today I'm here, and I'm happy to win."
- Lu Yun-Hsen (TPE) on his thoughts after learning of his draw against Andy Murray (GBR), speaking after beating Murray 7-6(5), 6-4 in a first-round match.

 

Volleyball

 

"The management of the team is more difficult with the two sisters, because the older sister is always trying to take responsibility for the younger. I would prefer not to have two sisters on the team."
- Algeria women's volleyball coach Mouloud Ikhedji (ALG) on player sisters Melinda and Sehryne Hennaoui (ALG).

 

Water Polo

 

"Eight newcomers is a good thing. It's their first Olympics and they are all excited, not afraid of anything. Sometimes experienced players have bad memories."
- Australian coach Greg McFadden on having eight players without Olympic experience in his women's water polo squad.

 

Weightlifting

 

"That's something I've done forever. I try to work with the bar, not against it. When you connect properly it's right and it's amazing. I try to think of the bar as my friend."
- Weightlifter Jeane Lassen (CAN) on why she kisses the bar after her lifts.

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