"We know that as soon as our competition is done there’s another Canadian taking their place at the starting line or waiting to race. I think that’s what’s so powerful is that we’re just part of something bigger than us."

"I don’t know if race made it more difficult, but definitely it made me stronger, knowing that I [had] no excuse [for] making mistakes or being kind of so-so, because maybe I [wouldn’t] be accepted as a white person [would’ve been]. But if [I was] better, they had no choice but to accept it and say, ‘She did so well.’"

"I'd rather skate naked than wear fur."

"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."

"I am not the type of person who thinks in terms of "if only" or "could have, would have, should have". It is what it is and everything happens for a reason. When a person thinks "if only I would have known such and such" it shows a certain amount of fear or lack of trust that everything is as it should be. I try to always do my best and if I look back and think I didn't do my best, then that is the only thing I acknowledge and then try to change. One of my favorite expressions is, "Everything is okay in the end and if it's not okay, it's not the end.""

"[About her vegan diet] I guess I'm a very compassionate person so hearing about animal abuse kind of triggered something in me that maybe I should try it… I'm really into health and fitness and wellness, so this kind of tied into it. I thought I was just going to do it until the (2010) Olympics, but then I didn't go to the Olympics, and then I ended up liking it so much, I think I'll be a vegan for the rest of my life. … My energy is so much better, I don't hit that wall at 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I sleep well, my skin is better, everything just feels well. And it transfers into my attitude, everything in my life has just become a lot calmer, everything I'm putting in me is clean and genuine and organic and in turn, the way I live my life has started to follow that path."

"I want people to be taken away to another planet when they watch me skate. I want them to be transported into a dream world."

"I’d love to see a 6-foot-2-tall, skinny man doing a halfpipe on figure skates."

"There are some things I keep sacred. My middle name. Who I sleep with. And what kind of hand moisturizer I use."

"I’m not intimidated by anything, except maybe PETA standing outside with a bucket of blood."

"The results are something I can't control, so I can't say 'damnit, I didn't place in the top three today.' I can't control any of that. I just skate. And my goal was to show my heart, to take them on a journey with me so they can feel me."

"Out of ugly, I think the most important thing to do in life is to make something beautiful."

"If he doesn’t want to skate to music that’s pretty and wear a pretty costume, then go rollerblade or skateboard or do one of those extreme sports."

"It's incredible. Nine? Wow. I just remember winning my first one, getting the medal and the plate, the pin with the diamond for first place. My ninth title, I have no answer for that because I never thought it would be possible."

"As a child, I'd wonder, 'When I die, will people still remember me 1,000 years later?' And without the gold medal … Well, the Olympics are the ultimate achievement in my sport. At times I think, 'Why should I push myself all those long hours in the rink?' But then I think, 'How will I ever know how good I could have been?' I want to be the Michael Jordan of my sport."

"At 13, I was fearless. I looked at everything so positive. When you're older and been through it all, you know how bad it can get. There is a fear of failing."