Best 17 quotes of Clara Hughes on MyQuotes

For 20 years I've had the privilege of representing Canada around the globe... first on the bike and then on my blades. The experiences have shaped me into who I am today.

I am kind of like a diesel. It is the cyclist in me.

If you dream and you allow yourself to dream you can do anything.

I had some experience in dealing with people who have mental illness and depression, but I didn't see the signs in myself. I couldn't ask for help because I didn't know I needed help.

I'll skate on concrete if I have to. I'm not worried about how fast the ice is. I'm worried about how fast I can go on the ice.

I love skating so much and I feel like every time I step out onto the ice, that's what I'm meant to do.

I'm trying to let winning the world championships settle in right now before I begin training again shortly. During the skating season, we skate on average 20 kilometres a day. On top of that, we're riding a lot and lifting a lot of weights.

I still can't believe I won the Olympics. That's what I feel right now - completely alive as a human being. It's a really beautiful moment.

I've been in sport for 15 years now and I'm actually shocked at the changes. We had all these things, but we couldn't utilize them. They were not accessible to us. They're actually accessible right now.

Ive had so many experiences in cycling, but in some ways I have nothing left to prove. I have achieved more than I could have dreamed of, Ive raced a lot longer than I thought I would. I know I can still be better, but I just dont know if I love it enough any more.

I've learned what it truly means to be Canadian and in turn I've been inspired to make a difference in the world, however small it's been.

I want people to be inspired that I've always strived for excellence and I've always gone beyond what anybody ever thought I could do, what I thought I myself could do. And I've allowed myself to be inspired, kept my eyes open and my senses open to inspiration around me.

I was, without exaggeration, a delinquent teenager.

Sport that consumed me for over two decades . . . is now gone. Now it's just me. No pressure, no expectations, no need to be fast, good, strong or to even improve. Yet I can't let go of this idea that I always need to be more than I am. And it is eating me alive.

That's what is most satisfying, is having overcome that pain. Pain that is so intense that when you finish, it feels like you're going to die. That's what I wanted, and that's what I got.

The only reason I've shared my story is to take that tiny baby step of breaking down the stigma attached to depression.

With athletes, it's never fully understood the level to which we push ourselves. Especially in an endurance sport.