There is no correlation between a childhood success and a professional athlete.

When I decided to go for four gold medals I planned it out over a few years. It was in four different events and there was a lot to it.

When I run - as you see from my record - I run to win.

When I run - you can see my record - I run to win.

Whether I'm 40, 50 or 60, I'm going to be as physically strong as I am able.

You can't live your life through your children.

You have to free your mind to do things you wouldn't think of doing. Don't ever say no.

You're not going to get a chance to vote for me on the ballot, but you can actually vote for what I believe in.

I've always known that sporting people frequently suffer from joint problems because of the repeated strain they put on their bodies to get to the top. But somehow I never thought it would happen to me.

Amateurism is the strongest form of discrimination in sports. Because it discriminates against the underprivileged, it discriminates against the poor. If we want sports to go back to the wealthy, let's make it amateur again.

An athlete and actor are really two different temperaments, night and day. As an athlete you really keep things out and as an actor you really bring things in.

Every New Year's Eve, I have a pact to do something I never thought I'd do. So I created this list. You have to free your mind to do things you wouldn't think of doing. Don't ever say no.

I found the emotion that as an athlete you block out, and it really helped me to understand myself as a person. I'm a really emotional person and it helped make me a better person.

I know there are a lot of people out there who have the best intentions but not the voice, so it's about people like me to give them a voice and hear their ideas.

I'm not supposed to be able to speak clearly, and decipher what's going on in the media. I'm supposed to be the typical amateur who's 22 and scared to death and can't believe he won the Olympics.

I'm very serious about becoming a dramatic actor. I don't want to play cameo parts walking on as Carl Lewis the athlete. I want to go on stage or screen and be taken seriously.

'm so fortunate to have done what I love to do for so long, but the day I retired was one of the best days of my life. Not because I was happy to get away from the sport, but because it was clear in my mind that I had done all I possibly could, and that it was time to go.

Most people want to become movie stars and I just want to be in the business. I already was a star. If I get the part of a lifetime and it blows up, then that's wonderful. But if the acting doesn't work, fine. I'll just be a producer. And if the producing doesn't work, fine. I've got a lot of other stuff.

Scientists have proven that it's impossible to long-jump 30 feet, but I don't listen to that kind of talk. Thoughts like that have a way of sinking into your feet.

To this day, most people think of me as the fastest human. They don't really think me as a long jumper, although that's the event I had more success in.