I love the 1,500 meters. I knew that, if I had to do it to win, I'd run under 4:05. That means I could pick up 100 points, maybe even 150 points, on anybody in the world.

I called Daley Thompson after the Games of '84, when he won. He'd had this phenomenal decathlon for nine events - and then he went out there and jogged the 1,500 meters and missed the world record by, like, three points.

I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Back then they didn't even know what dyslexia was.

The next great decathlete is going to be a runner. I still feel that a Dan O'Brien, if he was a runner and not a sprinter, could have gone over 9,000 points.

In the fifth grade I discovered something I could do better than the other kids. One day, the teacher set up a bunch of chairs, and she had everyone run to the chairs and back while she timed us. I had the fastest time in the whole school!

I had really no sense of style. Everyone around me in my family had the sense of style - I learned as much as I possibly could.