Angela Ruggiero Quotes

I need to continue to be wise, be efficient and prepared for every game that I play leading up to the Olympics.

As long as I have that support from my team, and I have that confidence in myself that I train really hard, I think there's no one out there who can defeat me in my weight class.

My concentration level blocks out everything. Concentration is why some athletes are better than others. You develop that concentration in training and concentrate in a meet.

People expect you to play your best, so I go through a routine to prepare myself so that I know I'm physically and mentally ready - prepared for the game.

When I set my eyes on the gold at the world championships, I was able to maintain that focus that whole day. That's what I aim to do in Rio - my focus is gold, so I can keep in that good state; I can't get too complacent. I can't relax; I can't be content. I need to be 100 per cent switched on.

The more mental strength you have, the better. If you look at some of the best players that we have seen over the years and that I have been playing with, mentally they are the best competitors as well, something I have worked hard on.

To have any doubt in your body is the biggest weakness an athlete can have.

I think there's going to be pressure on all the British athletes. It's a home Olympics at the end of the day. I like adrenaline, that's something I feed off. I'm just going to go out there and do my best.

The mind is absolutely instrumental in achieving results, even for athletes. Sports psychology is a very small part, but it's extremely important when you're winning and losing races by hundredths and even thousandths of a second.

An Olympic pursuit really takes a full three to four years of Olympic preparation.

I've probably given myself enough time to prepare for this meet and we're all different athletes so I can't take their results as what's going to be inevitable for me.

It's a fine balance for an athlete in enjoying the moment and being really satisfied, say, with a run, and with your day, and knowing you can make it better in the future.

There's an adage that a lot of coaches have, that I completely disagree with, is if you make the Olympic team too early you become complacent.

You have to go into each match believing you can beat all of the players.

I want to wake up every day and feel that I'm training harder than my competitors, that I'm dieting harder, that I'm recovering better. That's what gives me confidence when I'm lining up on the blocks. I've never gone out to prove people wrong. I just want to be the best that I can possibly be.

I want to know about what makes an athlete tick.

Well, it's still another two-day competition, so it's really important to show that you're ready. Every meet is really important right now. You've got to keep showing you can hit.

For sportsmen or women who want to be champions, the mind can be as important, if not more important, than any other part of the body.

You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you're in on the day of the race. I've always felt these really big races aren't necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They're won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day.

I have always maintained that in basketball the importance of the mental to the physical is about four to one.

During my first Olympics in 1980, at the age of 23, I was physically in great condition but mentally too inexperienced to cope comfortably in the pressure cooker of an Olympic year.

If I'm not Top 10 or seeded every tournament, it really doesn't matter. I can beat anyone on a good day.

You have to be that 1 percent or 2 percent better physically so you have more power and energy left than your opponent when you go to a third set.

I think the biggest part of my game that's underestimated is the mental part of it.

I was never the most technical wrestler. But my coaches definitely instilled in me the belief that if you can push yourself and practice smarter than the other guy, you can beat him.