A Bird, Music And Food -desert Island

All My Life I Believed I Became An Athlete Through My Own Determination, But It's Impossible To Think That Being Descended From Slaves Hasn't Left An Imprint Through The Generations.

Opting For Gold Shoes Could Have Been Considered Downright Cocky, But I Was Confident And Never Doubted My Ability To Deliver Gold Medals To Match My Shimmering Footwear.

Rivalries Don't Necessarily Mean Races Being Close At Major Championships. I Had A Rivalry With Butch Reynolds For Many Years. I Won All The Races, But Butch Was The World Record Holder Before I Came Into The Sport, He Was Extremely Talented And He Was The Only Other Man Running 43 Seconds.

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.

The Mind Is Absolutely Instrumental In Achieving Results, Even For Athletes. Sports Psychology Is A Very Small Part, But It's Extremely Important When You're Winning And Losing Races By Hundredths And Even Thousandths Of A Second.