« Back to article

Print this article

Best quotes from the London Olympics

A selection of the best quotes from across all sport at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"Of course, it is an amazing feeling to represent your country and I hope there will be many more occasions to come, because I really love the tune of our national anthem."

Romanian gymnast and vault gold medallist Sandra Raluca Izbasa hopes to be singing 'Desteapta-te romane!' at many future Games.

-London Olympics 2012 - Complete coverage

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"Basically, we are not human, we dropped from space like Mr Bean. Mr Bean is not a normal guy, he makes jokes. We are not normal guys. We are from space, I am from Mars."

Jamaica's Yohan Blake sounds like a bit of a space cadet when describing the Jamaican team's 4x100m victory.

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"The noise was like being in a nightclub."

Freya Murray of Great Britain was impressed with the crowd's pumping support for the women's marathon on The Mall in central London.

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"It's my motivation. My friends back home call me a warrior. In fact I'm a butterfly-faced warrior."

Bronze medallist in the women's 400m DeeDee Trotter of USA uses both her make-up and her speed to scare her opponents.

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"I have been dubbed 'the girl who puts the glamour into hammer'."

Hammer thrower Sophie Hitchon of Great Britain broke the British record in qualifying and aims to break a few stereotypes about the sport as well.

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"About a year ago I was not sure I would be alive. It's winning just being here, speaking to you guys."

Czech Petr Koukal, competing at London 2012 less than two years after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, sees the bigger picture despite losing 21-8, 21-8 to Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat in the badminton men's singles.

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"Don't hate the player, hate the game."

Danish badminton player Jan O Jorgensen shows some sympathy for the eight players expelled in the women's doubles 'match-throwing' scandal.

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"We couldn't shoot into a lake."

Nigeria men's basketball coach Ayodele Bakare bemoans his team's inefficiencies in a 72-53 defeat by Lithuania.

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"The sport is very simple to understand. Ball over net; don't touch net; three hits each side; keep sand out of pants. That's what I've been doing for 20 years and I still haven't mastered it."

Retiring five-time Australian Olympic beach volleyball player Nat Cook mulls the complexities of her sport.

Best quotes from the London Olympics

"Sometimes it's just the beer and bikinis that get people to come and watch, but it's the competition that's keeping them there."

USA's Kerri Walsh Jennings reveals the secret of getting the public hooked on beach volleyball.