“Australians are a fantastic bunch of people but the attention can be overwhelming for someone like me.”

“Between 1991 and 1997 I had really serious asthma.”

“I definitely do things on my terms, it may not seem that way but I actually do.”

“I don't agree with everything Madonna's done but she is fearless.”

“I don't have a lot of regrets in my life.”

“I don't like people looking at me; I hate the attention.”

“I have a friend who, if she has a bad hair day, it affects her whole mood because it is part of her sexuality, her confidence. I don't have that problem any more.”

“I have time to breathe, time to be myself more often, I am a lot more relaxed and less guarded.”

“I lie around the floor with my cats Billy and Jazz or watch DVDs with my best friends.”

“I like being in the workforce; it keeps me grounded.”

“I like looking feminine and I enjoy being a role model. I enjoy being a woman. It all comes down to having the confidence to be who you are.”

“I made my first Australian senior team when I was 16, first Olympics when I was 19, and I retired. I'm 32, I retired four years ago, so a good third of my life or nearly a third of my life has been all about running.”

“I make no apologies.”

“I think the greatest amount of pressure is the pressure I place on myself. So in a way I chose to be alone.”

“I was always surrounded by expectation from the very first race I ran as a 5-year-old.”

“I was going to shave it. It went in two parts. I got a bob first but it kept falling all over my face. Then it was off, short. The main reason it was long was because my mother cut it short when I was little and I was trying to make up for that.”

“I was running since I was 10. Since grade one at school people looked at me and thought, oh gosh she can really run, she's a natural.”

“I'm so lucky. I have such a great support system. All I have to do is run.”

“Money makes life easier but I don't want to be rich, not at all.”

“My last real race was at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.”

“Peace, unity and harmony!”

“People could see in me who I am now, an Olympic champ, the best in the world.”

“The thing I do best is laugh.”

“This occasion is personally very meaningful and I hope to visit Korea again if I have the chance.”

“When I'm in a bad mood, I don't listen.”

“You got to try and reach for the stars or try and achieve the unreachable.”