Quotes

FROM CHELLSIE

"Changing coaches was hard. All transitions are hard, especially when you're with someone so long." - as told to Inside Gym in 2005

"There are a lot of new kids now. It's weird for us. Me and Alicia Sacramone were talking and we're like, 'We're the old ones now!'" - as told to Inside Gym in 2005

"I know I was there when we were all training and at any point we could've stepped in if any bad thing ever happened but... I don't think I ever really felt like an Olympian there." - about being an alternate, as told to NBC

"It was like a really weird feeling. It was like you were there, but you weren't because everyone was around and all of us are all hoping for the same thing, and you know what's going on through everyone else's head. It was just a weird feeling." - not making the Olympic team, as told to NBC

"Before it's like yeah.. you know you might get there but once you get that World Championships its like wow this is really a possibility." - about making the Olympics, as told to NBC

"It was one of the greatest feelings ever. We all just came together that night." - about 2003 Worlds team finals, as told to NBC

"Train your hardest every day and keep a positive attitude. Stay with it, because if you work hard, good things will happen."

"This is really amazing! It's a dream come true for all of us. I think we really deserved this. We had all the bad luck we could have, we just hit our routines when we needed to." - after winning Team Finals at 2003 Worlds

"I talked to my friends back home on the computer. They're all pretty happy about it." - after 2003 Worlds

"We knew we still had three strong people on every event. We really wanted to hit for Courtney, because she was going to be a big help for the team also." - after 2003 Worlds

"I just hit my routines and had a good meet." - after 2003 Worlds

"I've been doing everything I've been doing, just tighter and with fewer deductions. I didn't think about it being such a huge competition. It was just like going up to do another beam routine." - after 2003 Worlds

"When I found out down in Santo Domingo, it was a real shock. It took me like an hour to sink in. And then when I found out I was competing here, it was an even bigger shock. Was I nervous? Just a little." - about 2003 Worlds

"It's just amazing. It's the coolest feeling ever." - competing at 2003 Worlds

"Winning [2003] Pan Ams gave me a great deal of confidence coming [to Worlds]. It made me know I could hit my routines and hit them well."

"I thought I would be cheering the team on from the sidelines, but this is definitely much better." - about Worlds

"It was horrible (the injuries). It was, 'Oh, my gosh,' when Annia did it (torn anterior cruciate ligament), and then Courtney, and it was, 'Not again. This can't be happening to us.' We had the worst luck ever." - about Worlds

"I love the crowd. The crowd helps me so much. There's a connection there. It just sort of comes out naturally."

"I try not to put a lot of pressure on me. I just try to go out and hit."

"I think [competing at Worlds] would be really neat." - told to IG in 2002

"Remember her name, she is the one to watch." - US Olympic Committee

"I think she's finally breaking free. She's allowing herself to go for her best form possible, and her best amplitude possible. The secret is the confidence; all the physical work is done. She's just at her best this meet. She was as cool as she could be." - coach Jim Chudy after Team Finals at Worlds

"She amazes me completely. I can't even put into words how amazing she is to me. ... It's hard being an alternate and jumping right in. She should be so proud. The last couple years you haven't heard much of her. She was a junior, real young. She just had the meet of her life. Wow. That girl wants to go out there, and she wants to win." - Two-time National Champion Tasha Schwikert

"It's so funny because we were sitting there trying to calm each other down and pump each other up and Kelli (Hill) looks up and (Chellsie is) already out there, up on the podium ready to go. She's just - wow! That's all I can say. Watch out for Chellsie Memmel." - Schwikert

"She's a stud." - Cassie Rice, coach of Schwikert

"She was excellent. She always was a good competitor, but this time she was getting into her peak shape. I think now we have another champ." - Marta Karolyi

"It was not believable. This team pulled a Lance Armstrong. They were the epitome of strength." - Mary Lou Retton, about 2003 Worlds

"These kids won the greatest team victory ever for the United States. I say that because of the repeated blows we got all week long. We had to compete with gymnasts who were not scheduled to compete and we had to compete with gymnasts who were not scheduled to be here." - Bela Karolyi, about 2003 Worlds

"The thing so special about Chellsie is she really doesn't like the limelight. She doesn't want the accolades; that not what she's doing the sport for. And that's very amazing for a young kid." - Jim Melcarek, part-owner of Salto

"She is a strong personality with excellent physical abilities, a lovely kid. I love the way she's relating to you, her willingness to learn. She's in excellent hands with her coaches, and definitely she'll be a contender." - Bela Karolyi

"Chellsie is a very smart kid, so I can relate to her intelligence. In fact, I have to, because she's a kid who needs to have it all figured out in order to really achieve the results that we know she can achieve." - Jim Chudy, told to IG

"Chellsie is a really tough kid. She didn't have one day off in three weeks and never complained." - Kathy Kelly about Chellsie competing in back-to-back meets in 2002