Quote collection
74 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"When I had no shoes I was comfortable - I used to run barefoot. When I wore shoes it was difficult. To run in shoes was ok, but at the beginning of my career it was hard."
"I'm retiring from competitive running, not from running. You cannot stop running, this is my life."
"Athletics is in my blood."
"Being a great athlete is something that requires a lot of training and dedication, it does not come as easily as some people may think."
"I haven't done a marathon for a long time. So we'll see. I will need good luck."
"If I don't train enough, of course I'm nervous."
"You know, I want to help my country. Definitely I can help them, simply by winning races. Sure, they can follow my path to a good career. But for me it is not enough. I want to be more than that. In everything I want to be a role model."
"I want to go down in history."
"What is important is to win."
"Since I achieved something, running has exploded in my country."
"If your body is damaged, wounded, it can be fixed, but if inside, mentally, you are wounded you cannot fix it, it's hard."
"I have seen things few of my countrymen have. The first time I went on an aeroplane I couldn't work out how the lavatories worked up in the sky."
"You know for me when I promise something I want to deliver. If you don't, you have to disappear."
"My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money."
"At the moment I am a little bit politician, yes. I think that could be my next step. It is not because I want power, it is because of what I think I could do for the people."
"Considering that the race is star-studded no runner will be willing to set the pace for the others. This is why a record will be almost impossible."
"This is what I wanted. They tell me that London is the best field in history. I wanted to be part of that. Because everyone will be there it will be a wonderful challenge for me. You can see the best runners, how they look, how they run. For me to beat the best is what counts."
"What can you do if a part of it is uphill? You can't work out another route. You've just got to run the one they give you. But they tell me London is a nice course. Even the cobbles, I hope, are not very much of a problem for me."
"I was the kind of child who worked hard every day with the cows and sheep - I was a very aggressive boy."
"If you are a really good marathoner, you have to run New York."