If You Don't Try To Win You

I Wanted No Part Of Politics. And I Wasn't In Berlin To Compete Against Any One Athlete. The Purpose Of The Olympics, Anyway, Was To Do Your Best. As I'd Learned Long Ago From Charles Riley, The Only Victory That Counts Is The One Over Yourself.

Every Morning, Just Like In Alabama, I Got Up With The Sun, Ate My Breakfast Even Before My Mother And Sisters And Brothers, And Went To School, Winter, Spring, And Fall Alike To Run And Jump And Bend My Body This Way And That For Mr. Charles Riley.

I Always Loved Running... It Was Something You Could Do By Yourself, And Under Your Own Power. You Could Go In Any Direction, Fast Or Slow As You Wanted, Fighting The Wind If You Felt Like It, Seeking Out New Sights Just On The Strength Of Your Feet And The Courage Of Your Lungs.

A Lifetime Of Training For Just Ten Seconds.

I Fought, I Fought Harder . . . But One Cell At A Time, Panic Crept Into My Body, Taking Me Over.