Olympics: Quotes of the day

LONDON (AFP) –

Australia’s Leisel Jones competes in the women’s 100m breaststroke heats swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Quotes of the day from the London Olympic Games on Sunday:

“I have never had so much in my life and I am so thankful for that. Thanks to the journalists who wrote not such nice things about me because you have never made me feel so loved in my life.”

– Australia swimming star Leisel Jones thanks the public for their support after an Australian newspaper carried unflattering photographs which suggested the triple Olympic breaststroke gold medallist was out of shape.

“This one is for my mum. She had a brain haemorrhage six weeks ago and she is still in bed.”

– British boxer Anthony Ogogo dedicates his first round victory to his ailing mother.

“Let’s hope we can make it ‘Camilla Speirs Olympic Medallist’.”

– Irish eventer Camilla Speirs’s confident answer to what she thinks of the sound of ‘Camilla Speirs, Olympian’.

“I think I disappointed my family, my parents and my friends. I’m very frustrated. My parents fight every day for me. They support me in everything I do, so much. I feel like I owed them this victory, but I’m going to keep training for the future.”

– Brazilian judoka Erika Miranda takes her preliminary round defeat hard.

“My sport is a beautiful sport, it gives so much fun and enjoyment. However, the downside is that it can break your heart and spirit many times over when your body is simply unable to match what your heart and brain want it to do.”

– Britain’s Paula Radcliffe experiences fresh Olympic misery after being forced to pull out of the marathon with a foot injury.

“The referees weren’t told to change their minds, they were merely reminded about an incident that should have influenced their decision.”

– International Judo Federation general-secretary Jean-Luc Rouge on the controversial move to reverse the decision of all three judges on the mat and make world champion Massahi Ebinuma of Japan the winner of an under-66kg quarter-final rather than South Korea’s Cho Jun-Ho.

“She shouldn’t have been in the opening ceremony but don’t run away with the idea that she sort of walked in off the street.”

– London 2012 chief Sebastian Coe plays down fears of a security breach after an ‘over-excited’ cast member gatecrashes India’s athletes’ march at the opening ceremomy.

“I have no technique; I only have strength.”

– Niger’s Djibo Issaka, who has only been rowing for three months, explains his slow times in the men’s 2,000m single sculls.

“She’s fast, if she was there with me, maybe she would have beaten me.”

– American superstar Ryan Lochte reacts to China’s Ye Shiwen swimming a faster final lap in winning the women’s 400m medley than he managed in taking gold in the men’s equivalent.

“It’s very painful not to be running here after all I have achieved.”

– His fellow distance runners might think differently, but Ethiopia’s double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie is sad to have missed out on a place at London 2012.