Athens Quote by Cathy Freeman

I informed the team three years before the Olympics that I was retiring from indoor. It's not as if I left six months before…

— Karch Kiraly

It was my goal and dream to be selected to the Olympic team, so I knew going into it the amount of responsibility I…

— Mirai Nagasu

I think I should retire after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

— Ian Thorpe

I had big goals, I wanted to go to the Olympics.

— Mat Fraser

I didn't know how I was going to get to the Olympics, and in the beginning, I didn't really care. And that was the…

— Gretchen Bleiler

For me retiring wasn't hard once I knew that that was the decision I was going to make.

— Gabriela Sabatini

I chose to be retired. I chose to start a family. That was one of the biggest reasons I got away from the game…

— Mark McGwire

I can remember the day I decided I would retire from competitive athletics as vividly as if it were yesterday.

— Sebastian Coe

I wanted to be an Olympian.

— Bianca Belair

What was most important to me at the Olympics was going out there and performing my best. When I messed up the first jump…

— Debi Thomas

I think after the 2008 Olympics I wasn't really satisfied with the outcome, so I knew I had to change some things.

— Ryan Lochte

'm so fortunate to have done what I love to do for so long, but the day I retired was one of the best…

— Carl Lewis