20th-century Figure Skater Quotes

Sonja Henie

Katarina Witt

Kristi Yamaguchi

Johnny Weir

Brian Boitano

Peggy Fleming

Ekaterina Gordeeva

In 1968, in the midst of the tumultuous 1960s, the Olympics were much more than just another event

No mother wants to hear her son say he's gay. Those two words rip the picture of a daughter-in-law and grandchildren into pieces. I felt sorry for my mom and wanted her to know everything was going to be all right. But then she said, 'I don't really care, Johnny, as long as I know that you are going to be happy.'

Every day, someone realizes a dream. I believe dreams help light our darkness and give us the push we need to move across the rink of life.

Kristi Yamaguchi

Although I am not as strict a vegetarian as I once was, I do continue to choose to eat more like a vegetarian than not. I would call myself a "conscious eater". It all started with my desire to be as lean and healthy as possible as a teenager around 17-years-old. With more education, as well as trial and error, it also turned into an expression of my attempt to show compassion for all living things.

You've got so much ice on your hands I could skate on them.

To Liberace

All my life I have wanted to skate, and all my life I have skated.

So I step into the future, as bravely as I'm able, with my heart longing for a time I'll never see again.

Ekaterina Gordeeva

I never had a serious injury that kept me out of a big competition. Now everyone has injuries - to their feet or their knees or their backs.

When a skater steps on the ice to compete, the nerves, the tension, and sheer suspense of that moment make for great drama.

Our family life, before figure skating turned it upside down, seemed normal. Our town of Riverside, Connecticut, was part of Greenwich, and we had the advantage of their wonderful community, with great beaches and beautiful parks.