Chad Hedrick Quotations

Let me tell you, we've never been buddies. We've been acquaintances but it's never been more than that. So for people to think there's a big problem, it was crazy.

My heart is bigger than anybody else out there. If another skater had felt like I did today, he wouldn't have been on the podium. That's just me refusing to lose.

Right here. My heart's bigger than anyone else out there.

People were acting like we were friends before we got here. We never talked that much as friends before we got here. We're competitors. That's what it comes down to.

I was scared. I've never been in the situation where I was crying before a race. I kind of felt like a sissy, but it worked out.

I don't go out there to place second or third. A lot of people would be happy to be third at the Olympics. But am I really happy with it? No.

I don't feel like there's been damage done to me for the Olympics because I'm not going to get five gold medals.

I am just so glad that his whole family was able to make it and see this. I think I am just as excited as Calvin is, but this is his night.

I'm a part of Team USA. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make my team as strong as it can be. I didn't care about how it was going to effect my individual race. I don't care about that. I care about being part of the team.

I felt I left a lot of medals out there.

I felt betrayed. He didn't participate in the race, and he didn't discuss it with me. He passed up a medal.

I feel good that I'm able to be one of the few people that can be in the 1,000 meters and still potentially be the 10,000-meter Olympic champion as well. The better my start gets, the more competitive I'm going to be.

I feel really great that I was part of Team USA. Every opportunity I get to go out there and show everyone I'm the best skater in the world I'll do it.

I don't think we should count Derek out right now. He's a fighter and one of the leaders of this team.

He went out and showed everybody. We were out there crying and giving each other hugs. I knew he had it inside him.

He had a great skate today. That's all I have to say.

He doesn't spend much time with us, I can put it that way. Everybody has their own deal. I'm not going to say whether it's right or wrong.

This wasn't my best day ever. But it is the most prestigious day I've ever had.

He's doing what he has to do. You guys can determine if he's being selfish or not.

I think it really helps to stay away from that and really focus on what you are here for.

I think we wanted to beat each other so bad that we weren't worried about the other 40 people out there. It's not about racing people. It's about racing the clock.

I watched the ice hockey and never even glanced at the speed skating.

I was a little tense to go out there and get it. But now I'm relaxed and confident.

I think the media has thought a lot more about the Heiden record than I have. Eric has said that it's tough to do what he did in 1980 because people are specializing in specific events.

I respect him as an athlete. That's what our relationship boils down to.

I respect the talent that he has. Whether he and I have the same outlook on things is different. Who knows what's right or wrong? I'm here as part of Team USA and that's what I'm going to do, whether it's the team pursuit or practicing with everybody. I'm trying to create positive vibe so we can come out and represent out country the best we can.

The 1,000-meters and 1,500-meters took a lot of snap out of my legs. And I just didn't feel like myself. That's part of the deal whenever you pick five different events and try to go for something spectacular. You end up sacrificing some time in different events.

That's the way I put pressure on myself. It makes me more nervous, and the more nervous I am, the more adrenaline I have pumping through my body.

I was really happy to introduce Houston to a new sport, and I just want to let everybody know how interested I am to have relationships with people from my own city. I want to make a difference.

We're all in the same boat. It comes down to the day. You test it out in warm-up. You have to adapt as quickly as possible.

We have a lot of common, in here, in the heart. He was a fighter just like me. You don't win five gold medals without heart. It's hard to race all those different distances.

Today was a day for me to create my speed so when I go out for the 1,500 meter on Wednesday, I can get my speed early.

We fought each other. We wanted to beat each other and we didn't have a game plan.

We fought each other and not the clock.

To help teammates have a chance at a medal, that's what the Olympics are all about.

We should be talking about other people. We should be talking about Joey and I, because we've already been standing up there on the podium.

We have different philosophies on doing things, that's all it is.

Every chance I get to step to the line and represent my country, I'm going to do it. I don't care if I have a race two days later, three days later ... this isn't a personal issue. I'm not going to be selfish to my teammates.

The team just didn't click. It hurts that we had the second fastest time. But that's part of the game and I am going to bounce back and show everyone what I can do.

I've never been in that situation before, crying before a race. I felt like a sissy.

That 1,000 took a lot of power out of my legs. I didn't know how much it took out of me. I wasn't focused like I usually am.

Something like this isn't what motivates me. As soon as I get on the ice, it's business. I'm not out here playing around.

Speculation of doing what Eric did, I would like to downplay that a little bit.

Now I'm just really confident that the other races coming up are going to be just as good. It's a great start.

This is not about yourself. It wasn't a good feeling for me after the 1,000 meters.

This isn't important for me. This is just gearing me up for the big show.

They swore it wasn't going to work on the ice. You're actually pushing with both feet going in the same direction.

It's just going to be first 200 meters that determines the race for me.

It was really emotional for us. He's been the backbone of our team for a long time.

It is pumping up our country to try to sweep this thing. It can happen.

It's a known fact from all the athletes, coaches and the studies and everything that people perform better, have a higher level of testosterone in their body, without having sex a certain amount of time before their competition. I tried it, and it is working so far and I'm going to keep doing it until I accomplish all my goals.

For Americans at home and a lot of people around the world, they want to see a battle.

It's an important part of being on the Olympic team. I'll get a chance to feel the Olympic spirit. It can't be anything but a positive experience.

It's going to be very competitive. The last three or four laps, you have to dig down deep and show everybody how much you want it. That's a big advantage for me. The last three or four laps, I'm going to hunker down and use my will to win.

Its great to come back after the Olympics and see all the people from home that have supported me. It's great to be able to share all the memories and help support a great cause like this.

Don't count Derek out. He's a fighter. He's one of the leaders of this team.

It's such a difficult thing to do. I'm trying not to worry about the pressure of it.

It's better it happened now than at the Olympics, which we train for our whole lives. You can say I got three medals at the Olympics, but it's been a really tough year for me and this just tops it off.

I've had a pretty numb feeling ever since what happened. I guess because I'm not completely happy with the results I had, and that's why I'm continuing through 2010.

I've got a 10K to worry about. He's got two medals in his pocket so he's done great. He's competed at an awesome level and I hope to go and finish it for our team.

It takes a toll on you. Four races would have been tough.

They better use a different one than they used in (training), I'll tell you that.

I'm going to go out there and compete like I always do, but at the same time I'm going to use it to develop speed for the first lap of my 1,500. I think that's a good thing. I think it's going to help me, so I'm happy Bart talked me into it.

I'm going to bounce back and prove to everybody what I can do. You may beat Chad Hedrick once, but you're not going to beat him twice.

I'm going to be back, and we're going to make another run for it in Vancouver.

I never expected to finish second or third. I always skate to win.

I knew Carl and I were skating for silver.

I'm like Roy Jones Jr. moving up to heavyweight. I picked up a new race and I got fifth in the world. I think that's pretty good.

I'm part of team USA. I don't care about how it's going to affect my individual race. I'm part of the team.

If I would have been the back, with the energy I had left, I probably could have gone through more laps when the race was done. The strategy we set out backfired on us. We expected KC to be able to stay in there and KC expected to stay. It wasn't in the cards.

I haven't accomplished all my goals. I won't quit until I get there.

I'm very happy with my accomplishments. But at the same time, I feel like I left a lot of medals out there. I didn't skate perfect. I let myself down a few times, but I have to hold my head high.

I haven't talked to him. And probably won't talk to him.

I didn't expect to win the race; it's a new one to me.

I didn't think it would hold up. I didn't expect to win this race today.

I didn't exactly put in all those hours on the ice to win a team-pursuit medal.

I built up the hype I guess. But I never said I'm going to be the next Eric Heiden.

I came here to win. If you come here for any other reason than that, in my eyes you're wasting your time. Anything less than a win, second, fourth, eighth, 10th, 50th, it's all the same thing to me.

I came here for my own races. They asked me to do the team pursuit. It's not really my thing but for my team I will do it. I'm going to be my best.

I could feel Carl catching me. I decided with six laps to go that the best way was to rest a little bit, let him catch me, let him think he has me. Then I sprinted away from him on that one lap.

The five medals isn't a big thing. The most important thing for me right now is to go out and have fun. Things could be a lot worse right now.

The good thing is I hold the world record in the last two races. All the pressure is on me. I'll be the favorite. I like that.

All the talk about Eric Heiden I'd like to downplay that.