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Maria Mutola
44 quotes
“Where you come from doesn’t matter at all. Whether you’re from a rich region or family or a poor one, you can still achieve your goals at school or in sport if you concentrate enough and dedicate yourself to them completely.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Zurich is just magical. I have been winning every year since 1993 here and today the pressure was double as I was also defending my Jackpot quest. The track is great, the people are great. I like everything about Zurich.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am very happy to be still in contention for the Jackpot but I am even happier that I can now forget about this jackpot for a couple of weeks and finally focus 100% on the World Championships.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I know I am in excellent shape and I will try and take advantage of my shape to try and defend my world title in Paris. The world championships race will be very important to me.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think Brussels will feel very strange. The break will make it strange and probably the fact that I will be so close to winning the jackpot.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I do win it, I will…oh I don’t know what I will do!”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Live from Zurich - IAAF Golden League quotes, August 16 2003
“People have said to me why didn’t I win at the Olympics in Barcelona (she was fifth) and Atlanta (she was third). They forgot I was young in Barcelona, I was learning, and in Atlanta it did not go well, even though winning bronze was still big but I needed more, so to be able to come back and be so successful is fantastic.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I quit, I can say I have achieved the most important things...winning the world titles and now the Olympic Games.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have one more Olympics in me—at least, If I did retire, I have my own foundation back home to help young kids in sport and I hope that will grow. I would probably coach somewhere too.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“On the first day I arrived there after the Olympics, I had never seen so many people waiting at the airport in Maputo (the capital), And they were all there for me.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Schools were closed so the students can come and see me.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I grew up in Maputo, my family live there and the President made a plane available for me to travel from state to state to go and visit and talk to people.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yet what was amazing was that in parts of the country I had not been before, there were huge crowds at other airports. The whole streets—from the airport to the hotel—was filled with people, it was very special. I felt like royalty.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They have named one of the Mozambique streets after me and even my old school has been renamed after me.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mutola tries to put Sydney behind her, February 17 2001
“It was a real change, I didn't speak English at all. It wasn't easy, in fact it was very, very different. It took me a while to adapt, close to a year. It was overpowering to be in such a strange place.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was incredible. It's not every day that a country like Mozambique wins an Olympic gold medal. There are only 16 million people in the whole country, and it felt that they were all there to welcome me home. There must have been hundreds of thousands of people. We couldn't move.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I used to think that maybe Sydney in 2000 would be my last Olympic Games, but as long as I stay injury-free, and listen to my body, then maybe I can go on to Athens.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mutola aims for number four in Madrid too, September 18 2002
“I am like the candle that has a steady long-lasting flame, rather than the candle that burns brightly yet dies quickly.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of course, winning the whole jackpot was monumental because for the first time it was won by a single competitor.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An important factor that motivates me is my country, My successes have brought a great deal of recognition and admiration to my country. My countrymen and women with such pride and enthusiasm greet me that every time I go home it humbles me. You see, my accomplishments have given them hope - and, with hope, anything can be accomplished.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I left for the United States at 14 years of age and I learned a lot. Education and exposure taught me many things, which I want to disseminate to the young girls.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We patterned the Maria Mutola Foundation programme after the one I took advantage of early in my career. My foundation has also provided assistance to other young athletes by helping them to travel and compete in other areas of southern Africa.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As with any endeavour of this nature, it is our hope to provide the basic necessities to afford the individual athletes the ability to develop their talents and carry themselves to their full potential. I hope that in the future these young athletes will be the next shining stars representing Mozambican athletics with pride and honour.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are already sending young boys and girls to run and play tennis in South Africa, and I hope the foundation will grow and help sportsmen and women acquire scholarships for studies abroad.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My relation with Margo has been a continual one since the time I first went to the United States as a teenager, She is more than a coach - she is like a mother to me.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They both gave me the confidence and guidance to reach this high level of achievement. I believe in Margo's training programme, have surrendered myself to it completely. The successes we have had as a team have been extraordinary.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is smooth and easy for us as we have the same coach and the same manager, Kelly shares the same goals as we do. This gives extra inspiration and motivation to all of us.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Maria is, without doubt, the best female athlete there has ever been, let alone the best middle-distance athlete.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Generosity and pace put Mutola out on her own, January 21 2004
“After the problem in Lausanne I kind of knew that I would have a tough time, I could only train on and off. My left hamstring was really, really bad. When I tried to run I just didn’t feel like me. I did everything to win in Zurich but had problems again (right calf) even though I had been easing my way back slowly. It made me realise maybe this might not be my year.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can go back to that day (in Athens) and feel a bit disappointed....Everything went down hill after those (injury) problems. I couldn’t train properly. I tried to train a little bit on the track and it would hurt and so I would rest and then go back and try again. So I just was not well prepared, and went to the Olympic Games with a lot of doubts, hoping that I would do something over there (in Greece)but knowing I was not in my best shape.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The race (final) was very close in Athens, but I had spent the (qualifying) rounds trying not to give anything away about my form because I didn’t want anyone to know I had problems. I wanted to run the final to my strengths but when it came to trying to sprint 100% I just felt that something in my body was just not quite there.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The race just didn’t go the way I had planned. I was hoping to win, I was then hoping to come second…it just didn’t happen.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have been injury free since 1991. I was able to train and run good until the problems of this year.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is most disappointing because this time the injury happened in an Olympic year. For the first time it upset my plans for a big race. Back in 1991 it (an injury) came just before the Worlds in Tokyo but I was young then. But what can you do, injury is not something that you can control.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“After the Olympics, I was planning to compete in the World Athletics Final but after I returned to South Africa to train for it my hamstring was just so bad I could not train.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“After a week I decided to give in and my coach told me to forget about the final, and to give my hamstring time to heel. It is healed again now and I am back training but as yet I haven’t tried to sprint because that can bring back the problem if I try too soon. So I am just doing long runs and conditioning work.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am training for the indoor season and hopefully next month sometime I will get back to some speed work and we will see from there what shape I’m in and whether the hamstring is still bothering me or if it’s gone forever.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have always enjoyed the indoor season and that is my main motivation at present but yes if my hamstring doesn’t bother me the World Championships in Helsinki are a goal.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have very few thoughts on my mind except about my hamstring and wanting to be back well and racing again on the circuit.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was very pleased with people’s reaction in Mozambique after what happened to me in Athens. When I first went back there after Athens there was a Police escort waiting to take me on the 50 minute drive to Maputo. At the border the President of the National Olympic Committee and the Minister of Sport were all waiting there for me.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was so good of them to greet me like that, as I had thought that maybe now I had not won, that things would change a bit. But it did not change anything. In fact it (their reaction) has motivated me more.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mutola: 'When I tried to run, I just didn’t feel like me', December 01 2004
“My last race, it’s not easy to take, knowing that I have to put the spikes away.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have been running in athletics since I was 14 so it has been more than half of my life and, from this moment on, I have to focus on something else. It is very hard but exciting at the same time. I think it would be difficult if I didn’t know what to do from here on.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But I’m so happy that I did it in Zürich and that I ran under two minutes again. Zürich has been good to me – I have won 12 races here and the crowd is very supportive.”
Maria Mutola (born 1972) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mutola bids farewell in Zürich - ÅF Golden League", World Athletics (29 Aug 2008)