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Quotes 2003 US Nationals Courtney on winning: "I'm so excited right now! I just won the nationals, and that's kind of crazy. This definitely takes a little pressure off (at the selection camp). Even though I still have to work really hard on my routines, I know I'm going [to Worlds]." Courtney on winning: "This is the happiest day of my life." "I knew I had to come up with something breathtaking to have a chance to dethrone Svetlana." "I can't really believe this right now. This is very exciting. I did not really expect to win a gold medal, but I did feel good about my routine." On her new routine: "In the summer, I completely redid my routine because I knew that I would only have a chance against Khorkina with a very special routine." "We changed the whole bar routine after U.S. Championships, we added the hop-full-tkatchev which was a pretty gutsy move, since she had not done a tkatchev in like, four years... we were going after start value. We learned a lot at Championships... we took out the stalder-back-pirouette (we knew we needed to get rid of it). I felt we were too far in to go back to her old routine going into the selection camp, so to me, it was a big risk, but I also felt if she could do a 10.0 start value and do it well, we would have a shot." - Kelli Hill On Khorkina falling: "When she fell from the bars I felt bad because I know how it feels to make such a huge mistake. But she's still a great athlete despite the fall." "You never really know what is going to happen. You have to do your best and focus on your routine. I wasn't really watching her routine. I felt bad that she fell, but she is still a great athlete." Kelli Hill on Courtney's win: "I am 100% flabbergasted." "We came here excited to be competing, and it just kept getting better. We made it through qualifying and then through semis and were thrilled. Then she hit her routine and we knew she had at least a bronze medal, and in medal contention. This is a great moment." Courtney on semifinals: "Before I got up on bars, I really didn't know what to expect... but I just walked out there and competed. I was very excited and had a really good, nervous feeling. I just tried to think, 'this is a normal meet,' then after I thought, 'Wow, I am in the World Championships!" Courtney on quarterfinals: "I have added a couple more skills on my bars to make it harder. This is the first time I competed that, so I was a little nervous, but it was good. I just wanted to keep swinging and stay straight so I could get all my skills in." "My coach told me what it [uneven bars score] was when she saw it. I was like, 'Whoa, that is awesome.'" "I fell off [beam] a little bit to the side. I almost hung on there, but it was disappointing because you always want to stay on. Then I was just a little shaky throughout the routine, but I made it through the rest of the routine okay." Courtney on competing at Worlds: "This has been a big experience. I am very excited to be a part of this team. We have had a lot of fun so far." "The atmosphere is great and will help give me the experience to learn how to just focus on my routines." "After coming here and experiencing all the changes you go through, we will know what to expect in Anaheim next year. It will definitely give us an advantage to compete in the U.S." "It's been funny because you have to rush, rush, rush to everything and then you have to wait, so that is what I have learned - to wait!" "We are pretty strong as a team right now. Once you see what everyone else is doing, it makes you want to do better and work harder. This gives me a chance to show what I can do - especially in the future." |