Apolo Ohno Quotes

I perform better under pressure. If I go out there, and I'm not nervous, and I'm too relaxed, I don't like that vibe. I like big matches. I like pressure situations.

I think when you compete every week, when you play under pressure daily, you find your rituals to be 100 percent focused on what you're doing.

You've got to want to compete with the best of the best and when the pressure's on.

I'm accustomed to pressure. It's what we, as players, live. If you don't want pressure, then football is not for you.

I learn how to put myself in situations at practice that cause me to zone in on what I'm trying to accomplish at meets. I try to make my practice surrounding as close to competition pressure to focus on what I need to do on the big stage.

In competition, when I start performance I try not to think about all the pressure from the fans. But, I got a lot of energy from them always. They make me more perfect.

When I was playing football, I always felt in complete control. When I play golf and come under pressure, it's a completely different ball game.

You can't control what the other athlete is going to do; you can't control anything except for your competition and how you execute the race or how you execute the task.

I love playing under pressure. In fact, if there's no pressure, then I'm not in the perfect zone.

There is a tremendous amount of pressure when you are a world No. 1 with everyone behind you trying to knock you down. But I always believe you should be enjoying the pressure at the top. It is a case of being able to relax and keep playing the game that got you there in the first place.

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.

For me, I just love running in the big moments. That's always been the way. That is what you work so hard for. You don't work hard to run fast in practice or to run fast at small meets.

In training, you can push yourself to the limit and test yourself against the best players in the world. That is when the pressure is really on, and they are the moments when you either improve, or you don't.

I know how good I am, and I know where I can go if I'm in the right mindset and respecting my opponent.

I have the game for the pressure matches and now I just have to be consistent.

We always have great practices, and the competition is high, and the intensity is high; it's just about doing that now in a game and sustaining it for 48 minutes.

I gotta be able to beat good guys at any moment. I think that's what I'm taking.

If you can't play under pressure, you shouldn't be at a World Cup.

When I step forward on the floor, I have the confidence that I'm the best player playing that night and that I am the most prepared at what I need to be doing.

On the pitch, I need to stay focused, alert, and be ready to face my heart-racing moment with confidence.

You grow up always thinking you'd be in pressure situations all the time, and that's why I put pressure on myself in practice, so when those situations come in the game I feel I can be successful.

People talk about pressure in football, but I don't think pressure should always affect you in a bad way. I love games under pressure.

I work better under pressure. I was the local badminton champion when I was a kid, and there was another girl who used to thrash me for the five days leading up to the tournament and then I would just nail her to the floor in the competition.

Learning how to compete is one of the most important things that an athlete can do. You can train as well as you possibly can and go compete and completely choke.

There was always a lot of pressure - I fought on Channel 5 in my first fight and got two million views - but luckily I'm the kind of person who thrives under pressure. I use it to fuel my performances and training, knowing that all eyes are on me and that there's a lot to live up to. It made me harder, tougher and more determined.