Bela Karolyi

My gymnasts are always the best-prepared in the world. And they win. In the end, that's what matters.

— Bela Karolyi

I'm tired of being hunted all over. I can't go anywhere without criticism.

— Bela Karolyi

The ideal gymnast would be between 4 feet 7 and 5-2. I wouldn't be able to pinpoint an ideal height, however. It…

— Bela Karolyi

I still love to find and develop the young athletes in traditional ways. I like to watch the physical and mental growth.…

— Bela Karolyi

A good 80 percent of the vault is still physical and another percentage of it, 20, 25 percent is mental. Mental is…

— Bela Karolyi

The rest of the world laughed at American gymnastics before I came.

— Bela Karolyi

I am very familiar with Hungary, because I grew up in Romania, which borders it.

— Bela Karolyi

I consider myself very lucky that I could live my life through all the ups and downs.

— Bela Karolyi

You have to have competent people evaluating the athlete, not the housewives!

— Bela Karolyi

Back in Romania, always I was struggling to compete with Vladislav Rastorotsky, the great Russian coach of Lyudmila Turishcheva. He was a…

— Bela Karolyi

What is a better way to prove that your methods work than by winning? I have proved that my methods work.

— Bela Karolyi

Just like an animal, when you want to survive, you don't think anymore.

— Bela Karolyi

I know gymnastics. It's always been a subjective appreciation.

— Bela Karolyi

In gymnastics, smaller will always be better in many ways. The stress in the head, that will be the same for all.…

— Bela Karolyi

What makes the vault so spectacular is because it's a very athletic type of event, where it needs a lot of speed,…

— Bela Karolyi

No competition, no progress.

— Bela Karolyi

I would love very much to win a medal at the Olympics for myself, by my own performance. But that will never…

— Bela Karolyi

The crowd sometimes plays a tremendous role to give you wings and carry you to victory.

— Bela Karolyi

I believe in playing with your heart, with every fiber in your body-fairly, squarely, by the rules-to win. And I believe that…

— Bela Karolyi

The Olympics shows the community what gymnastics is all about.

— Bela Karolyi

This team just wasn't good enough today, but they had the unity I always wanted. To have an American team like this…

— Bela Karolyi

What is the cruelest thing you can do to someone who is trying to concentrate? Call their name.

— Bela Karolyi

Genetics is all about showcasing human beauty along with high-quality performance.

— Bela Karolyi

Success depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice, how much you are willing to alter your everyday life for a…

— Bela Karolyi