Katarina Witt Quotes

"Figure skating is a mixture of art and sport."

"Skating taught me to set a goal and to block out other things and just focus on this one thing."

"Almost nothing is presented to you on a silver platter. You have to really work for it."

"Competitions make me nervous. When I go out on the ice, I just think about my skating and not, 'I have to do this to win.' I forget it is a competition."

"I never had a serious injury that kept me out of a big competition. Now everyone has injuries - to their feet or their knees or their backs."

"When I go out on the ice, I just think about my skating. I forget it is a competition."

"When I get up, I have a cup of coffee, surf the Internet, then do a half-hour run."

"Money was never the motivation. It never should be in sports."

"It's hard work to make a four-minute program look effortless and elegant."

"I was the very first athlete in East Germany allowed to go professional."

"Every man prefers to look at a well-shaped woman instead of a rubber ball."

"I was an athlete. And I proved I didn't win just because I was pretty. I was good, too."

"When you're young, you don't think very far ahead. You just think in terms of the next day, the next week, the next competition. You don't think about injuries that could threaten your long-term health."

"When you see the audiences and the smiling faces at the shows it really makes up for the work that you put in. I have a job I really love so whatever hecticness comes up - I'll just deal with it."

"I hope that I can maintain my skating as long as possible."

"I'm the sort of person who needs a big mountain in front of me to climb."

"The desire to really compete again has been there for a long time."

"It's not like I didn't do anything for 10 years and chose a new profession. I've been on the ice a lot. I'm not an outsider."

"I learned not to depend on other people. I needed support, but it's you who has to go out and deliver."

"I never really like to skate in an empty ice rink; I always need the attention of an audience."

"I can't say, 'It doesn't matter if you win or lose.' It's not true. You go in to win."

"I started the class late. The teacher said I would have to learn as much in half a year that the others learned in a year. I did it."

"When you reach a certain level, you live in a bubble when all you think, dream and breathe is becoming the best athlete in the world."

"Sometimes, success almost haunts you. You want to be the best at everything you do and know you have to work hard."

"As an athlete, you choose your sport and are drawn into it but your passion should never be driven by fame and fortune but a desire to create something special that people will always remember."

"Too many times women try to be competitive with each other. We should help support each other, rather than try to be better than each other."

"I don't want to compete. I want to skate for the joy. I get so nervous in competition. I get always sick. I had pressures enough in my life from skating."

"I want to see sunrises in the mountains. You never get to see such things enough in a lifetime. I want to see more."