Clara Hughes Quotations

I love skating so much and I feel like every time I step out onto the ice, that's what I'm meant to do.

I am kind of like a diesel. It is the cyclist in me.

The only reason I've shared my story is to take that tiny baby step of breaking down the stigma attached to depression.

I had some experience in dealing with people who have mental illness and depression, but I didn't see the signs in myself. I couldn't ask for help because I didn't know I needed help.

If you dream and you allow yourself to dream you can do anything. And that's what this Olympic medal represents.

I have this thing I say to myself that 'tomorrow can be better.' And I remember that period in my life where I never felt like tomorrow could be better. It was always dread for the next day.

I've had so many experiences in cycling, but in some ways I have nothing left to prove. I have achieved more than I could have dreamed of, I've raced a lot longer than I thought I would. I know I can still be better, but I just don't know if I love it enough any more.

What I have to do now is figure where my passion is, and follow my heart; I've proven that if I have the passion for something then I can succeed. I haven't been listening to my heart in the last little while.

I still can't believe I won the Olympics. That's what I feel right now - completely alive as a human being. It's a really beautiful moment.

I want people to be inspired that I've always strived for excellence and I've always gone beyond what anybody ever thought I could do, what I thought I myself could do. And I've allowed myself to be inspired, kept my eyes open and my senses open to inspiration around me.

I am nowhere near my limit. I just want to see if there are such things as limits. I want to go and find out.

I've learned what it truly means to be Canadian and in turn I've been inspired to make a difference in the world, however small it's been.

For 20 years I've had the privilege of representing Canada around the globe... first on the bike and then on my blades. The experiences have shaped me into who I am today.

I'm trying to let winning the world championships settle in right now before I begin training again shortly. During the skating season, we skate on average 20 kilometres a day. On top of that, we're riding a lot and lifting a lot of weights.

I love working with kids and I want to just be able to do it from my heart and not as a job.

I'll skate on concrete if I have to. I'm not worried about how fast the ice is. I'm worried about how fast I can go on the ice.

My goal is to try to avoid a regular job.

With athletes, it's never fully understood the level to which we push ourselves. Especially in an endurance sport.

That's what is most satisfying, is having overcome that pain. Pain that is so intense that when you finish, it feels like you're going to die. That's what I wanted, and that's what I got.

Ive had so many experiences in cycling, but in some ways I have nothing left to prove. I have achieved more than I could have dreamed of, Ive raced a lot longer than I thought I would. I know I can still be better, but I just dont know if I love it enough any more.

I was, without exaggeration, a delinquent teenager.

Sport that consumed me for over two decades . . . is now gone. Now it's just me. No pressure, no expectations, no need to be fast, good, strong or to even improve. Yet I can't let go of this idea that I always need to be more than I am. And it is eating me alive.

I've been in sport for 15 years now and I'm actually shocked at the changes. We had all these things, but we couldn't utilize them. They were not accessible to us. They're actually accessible right now.

All the physical comes from the mental.

The struggle I went through has value.

If you dream and you allow yourself to dream you can do anything.

The traveling schedule is pretty crazy. We were in Europe before we went to Korea. You get used to dealing with the jet lag, you have to.

After a lot of struggle, there is a point when the body cannot fight any more, and the after-effects are like succumbing to drowning,

It was my fourth Pan Ams, but I still had experiences that I will remember all my life. The people were so wonderful and warm, and I had a great time.

I think all of us fundamentally hope it has an effect on the youth of Canada, because all of us were inspired by Olympics past.