"There is a lot of pressure on the players in the Chinese team. I wouldn’t have survived if I had stayed there. Right now, I have the freedom to choose which tournaments to play and where to train. I take decisions that suit me."

"When I think I'm good, I find out I'm actually not."

"My life is pretty interesting now … I definitely can do better with more training and a coach but I don’t want to compare myself to others. I just want to enjoy my life, and my badminton"

"If I had stayed in Singapore, I don’t think I would have what I have now. I’m too straightforward and ask questions, and some people don’t like that. When I had a problem, I didn’t get to talk to the SBA, only the coach. Now I can do whatever I want, I control my own life."

"I’m just wishing I can play with higher-level players, so I can get used to that speed and focus while training at that speed. If I get used to playing with slower players, mentally it’s not pushing my limit."

"Coaching teaches me a lot; mentally, it’s helping, but skill-wise, no. The juniors have the same problems every day, you have to remind them all the time. Adult players know their problems, so you don’t need to remind them every day, every single shot."

"Like sometimes when a coach is behind you, they don’t really know how you feel. It’s hard for me to tell him, because I’m also thinking. If the coach and I think the same thing, that’s good, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Then do you listen to the coach, or do you listen to yourself?"

"When you win some tournaments and when you get good results, people are going to enjoy the success. But they don’t really think about what is going to be next. You’re going to lose the next week, too. So other players, they don’t really think about it. They’re always thinking, ‘I’m really good.’"

"I’ll be honest, I’m not really good like a top-five player. So of course, it also depends on the draw. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a good draw. I’m looking for a medal, not like gold medals."

"I don't care about my public figure, or gossip; It doesn't have an impact on my training or competitions."

"I don't like discussing my private life in public. It feels strange."

"As an athlete, you’re only focused on yourself and it’s mainly about physical exertion, whereas as a mother I have to think not only about myself but also my child. Everything is new to me as a mother. In a way, I also feel like a baby because I’m learning bit by bit. Nobody really understands what being a mother is like until they actually become one. It changes the way you think about everything."

"I began to feel like I’d failed if I didn’t win a medal, and I lost that feeling of excitement I felt when I first began."

"When I realised it wasn’t swimming I signed up for, I just went with it because I liked the challenge. It wasn’t a hobby, but I grew to enjoy it and become good at it through my training. Eventually I developed the goal of competing and winning a gold medal. Little did I know that raising my hand would lead me to where I am now"

"In the ’80s and ’90s, not a lot of people knew what diving was and I didn’t actually know what it meant. When I heard the word ‘water’ in the Chinese pronunciation of ‘diving,’ I had an image of families swimming happily together during the summer—and I wanted to have that."

"Our culture idolizes athletes, and God has really blessed my career. But at the end of the day, you want something that's eternal. We were made for so much more than fame or power, and coming to that realization has really made me say, "God, you know that’s best for me and that's what I want, too.""

"I am already considered an elderly player on the platform during the Rio Olympics cycle. In general, my state is quite poor, and my abilities in all aspects are going down. Therefore, I can't participate in single-player competitions and continue to write new gold medal records, which is a little regretful."

"At the beginning, I thought I was an ordinary athlete, and I didn't think too much about it. But as people asked me for a lot of things, I also felt that I should pay attention to my words and deeds. No longer. Can't let my temper anymore."

"Just treat every day as a new day to swim. When it's used up, recharge it, and when it's used up, recharge it again."

"I didn't even want to train, I was just playing, but I was persuaded to come back by the coach at the time. He said that you can't train like this. Everyone has a low point. Why can't you persist?"

"But I just want to say if I cannot win the gold eventually, I will not let my rivals win easily. We need to fight for it. I can accept not standing on the highest podium, but I will never give up."

"After I finished school, I started to get in touch with the referee's work. After all, I grew up in this circle and felt that the referee's job was more interesting, so I slowly decided that the referee's work was my future direction."

"Diving is relatively niche and not so market-oriented. It is one aspect that audiences like to watch, but in terms of participation, there will be fewer people participating."

"In the end, I can have today's achievements, and it is inseparable from the coach and team leader of the national team."

"Nowadays, many people are not focusing on gold medals, but sportsmanship, the positive energy in sportspeople."

"The tricky thing about fencing is that there are no secrets. Once you get on the strip, it's almost like I have all the information about you that I could ever want. The same goes for you against me. It comes down to a battle of minds, really."

"Olympian Hidilyn Diaz Talks About Rock Bottom And Her Battle To Win The Gold (23 July 2020)"

"Hidilyn Diaz: Trailblazer, Olympic Medalist, and Paragon of Grace. esquiremag.ph Retrieved December 14, 2025."

"Hidilyn Diaz Is Looking To the Next Chapter of Her Life. Vogue.ph Retrieved December 14, 2025."

"Hidilyn Diaz' powerful message to the Philippines. Olympic.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025."

"Exclusive: Hidilyn Diaz on eating her way to Olympic weightlifting glory (6 November 2020)"

"But the only thing that's ending on Saturday night is your five-hundred-day title reign when I become the Raw Women's Champion."

"Wheelchair racing to me is so similar to this feeling of flying – the feeling of going so fast that it’s almost effortless at the same time. When all of the biomechanics line up in the right way, the sport is so elegant."

"I hope to remember my perseverance and courage that went behind achieving my goal. I also hope to remember that the lessons I've learned up to this point will serve future generations as they pursue wheelchair racing."

"It takes a village to become an Olympian and I can confidently say that my faith and the support I've received from the staff and students at St. John’s have been instrumental in this journey."

"Glorifying Christ comes first, always. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t look to Christ in my times of need or doubt. When we turn to Christ, our joys are multiplied."

"I wanted my father to witness my success, especially at the Olympics. He risked being expelled from the church and called names by some people who were against my pursuing of weightlifting."

"I wanted to dispel the myth that we as women cannot do what men can."

"I am really excited proud of myself, 4 x is something to always remember."

"I have always strived to give back to the girl child in my community and I believe this football academy will provide opportunities for more girls to excel through the combination of sport and education"

"Moving to Europe made me switch a lot of things. It moulded me to become a proper professional player"

"I never had the intention to play football professionally, I wanted to be a lawyer"

"Oshoala, an inspiring young woman, is also a great role model to young women in Nigeria and we are very proud of all her accomplishments and effort towards encouraging underprivileged girls through her foundation"

"The reason she is successful is because of her integrity; no matter what she is passing through, she has always done good to others"

"I am really happy about that but I will also want everyone to understand that most times in football, it is about the team first while individual glory can come after."

"I also know that I represent many people on the pitch and a lot of girls look up to me; and so, I tend to give my best as a good time model"

"I want these girls to know they shouldn’t focus just on football, because when they are like 40 to 50 years, they may not be able to do much; but should also combine it with school or any handwork they are good at"

"I will never understand why y’all curse out people for not wanting to have kids…..Like, it’s their decision, let them be !!! We all see Life differently, biko."

"It keeps me going but of course there is still more work to do I want to create my own history and not just equal someone else's record that I'm going to give my best to create mine"