“A huge adrenaline rush is usually followed by a pretty low point.”

“But there was no question in my mind that I was gonna still go for it. I was still going for the win. I wasn't skiing for second or third place today, and in the end I think that's probably what got me there.”

“Eventually I'd like to have a family. I'd like to not be limping around when I'm 50 years old.”

“From 1999 to 2003 was the peak of equipment in ski racing. Since then, it's all gone in the wrong direction.”

“I always do the contrary of what my coaches tell me.”

“I had crashes when I was small and Gumby-like that would have killed me now. I would just fly off jumps and go 40 or 50 meters when I was 6 years old - break skis, smash my goggles and get a bloody nose and go crawl inside for a little while and then come back out and ski more in the afternoon.”

“I really am a thinker. I don't do things rash. I know some of the things I've said or the way I act seem rash. But I do take ownership of it. I don't say things I don't mean.”

“I think four Olympics is probably enough. Five Olympics is a long time, but there's nothing wrong with that if I'm into it and I'm healthy and my priorities can fit around that.”

“I went through a period at boarding school when my coaches wanted me to switch to snowboarding because they thought I was no good at skiing. I was too skinny. I had terrible technique. They were saying I should be a snowboarder, and luckily, I resisted.”

“I'm still having fun and as long as skiing is enjoyable, I'm going to continue to do it.”

“In some ways, that's the story of my season - when I wasn't making big mistakes, I was winning races and being on the podium. And when I made mistakes I was still fourth or fifth, just off the podium.”

“It's not quite as important who you beat as that you end up on top.”

“I've been exploring different options for when I'm done skiing. I have the Turtle Ridge Foundation, which is helping a bunch of worthy causes around the Northeast. I've also started SkiSpace, which is an online social network that basically deals with all things based around any snow sport.”

“My goal is the same as every year - to not hurt myself.”

“My grandfather was very into horse racing, and I found some of his old journals and got into it from there. It has a lot of parallels to skiing. It's a fun lifestyle, being around the racetrack.”

“Obviously, you always want to win, but you want to win by skiing a race that you're proud of and you feel like you really challenged yourself and left it all out there.”

“Once the season starts for me, there isn't a change in my focus, just a change in my tactics and strategies.”

“People in the U.S. will watch anything if it's put in front of their face over and over again. I like to see what's possible, more than anything.”

“People think coming in under the radar is like being a fighter pilot and actually coming in under the radar. It's a completely ridiculous idea to come in under the radar. It's the Olympics; everyone is on the radar here.”

“Sometimes it's all about the win, sometimes it's about the skiing.”

“That feeling is the same whether you're on either side of the hundredths. Obviously, it's great to win the world championship, but if you put down that kind of skiing, it's awesome either way.”

“There's so many guys skiing so fast right now that you really have to be willing to take a lot of risks if you want to give yourself a chance to win. I'm prepared to do it; it's just a matter of if I can make it work.”

“We should tell our kids to just have fun, participate and not get bent on winning or losing. But every coach, when they say that, they say it tongue in cheek, 'Don't worry about winning': If you win I'll get you ice cream, but if you lose I'm going to pout in the car.”

“When you back off, it's easier to do mistakes. For me it's better to ski fast.”

“When you get old, it's hard to tell what's memory and what you've kind of created in your head as memory, you know?”

“You feel the Olympics and you get chills and nervous and a little scared. You go through the emotional roller coaster at what it's like to compete at the Olympic level and you let that run through your whole body.”