Athlete Quotes

Lolo Jones

women's 50m hurdles winner

"I had not raced in so long. The question was, 'how was I going to react?' This year I have just been working on my core strength and speed. I didn't even know what the world record was. I knew that I had to go out there and just run. It felt good. What I learned from the Olympics last year is that anything can happen."

Asafa Powell

men's 50m winner

"I had a good time. It was the start and right away the race was over. I have proven I have a good start. I need to work on running the last part of the race. I don't even remember running the 60m before this. Right now I am very fit, but not fast. I have been working hard this week."

Veronica Campbell-Brown

women's 50m winner

"Not a lot of people have run the 50 meters. This is a step in the right direction. Now I have to get back to training. Hopefully this is a preview of what is to come. The start is the key. I felt okay. I have to watch the tape to see how things looked. Feeling something and seeing something are different. I just want to do my best and hopefully my best will be victorious."

Terrance Trammell

men's 50m hurdles winner

"I feel really good. This is a blessing more than anything. The life span for a hurdler to be at the highest level doesn't last 12 years. I'm having fun and I want to continue. My training isn't much different but I am focusing more on the recovery. I really wanted to come here and compete well. It was my first indoor meet since 2010. I'm extremely happy with the win and next week we will start working again."

David Oliver

second in men's 50m hurdles

"The 50m was kind of cool. There was an emphasis on the start, but it's the outdoor season that matters. Things really didn't feel any different. I'm just here having fun. This is definitely one of the best indoor meets around. There was a good crowd. I would have given anything to feel this good five or six months ago. I have to execute my start and I didn't execute it well. Terrence (Trammell) has an amazing start. He is a tough guy to beat indoors. Right now it's really competitive practices."

Bernard Lagat

second place in the men's mile

"Inside the race I knew I was going to have to change my strategy to win. I was a little disappointed with the time today. The atmosphere was the same (as the Millrose Games). I didn't feel anything different. The crowd was amazing. For Silas to come in and win his first meet is very good. That tells you how good he is."

Silas Kiplagat

men's mile winner

"Running against someone with so much experience was tough. It is a big win for me. It will help me to get ready for the Olympics. I can say the time was a bit slow. I was not knowing where we were going to be at."

Jesse Williams

men's high jump winner

"Last year I opened at 7-3 and this year I opened at 7-6 and it was good to get a win. It was an excellent way to start the year. Every competition matters. I was getting a little of the rust out and I just wanted to have fun. Dan (O'Brien) helped me out a little with the crowd. This is the second highest height I have opened at. To get a win is awesome. "I haven't had the target on my back on the world stage before but I have been the No. 1 rated jumper in the U.S. since 2006. It helps being a world champion. I know every time I step out I have to go all out. This is a good atmosphere to be in."

Renny Quow

Men's 600 yard winner

"It felt good. Training has been going good, I can't complain. It's still early, I can't complain.I came out here and did what I wanted to do, so I'm happy."

Bershawn Jackson

second place men's 600-yard

"I came into the indoor season not being too competitive. I wanted to use the indoor season to prepare for outdoors. This year I need to work on my sprint. When you take 15 strides instead of 13 (between hurdles in the 400m hurdles) you have to be strong. Last year I was injured and didn't have the base. Normally I start training in October or November and last year I started in January. I didn't have it last year. This year I'm working on getting that base. I love this meet. There is something about this place. When Michael Jordan has been here he put up big numbers, when Lebron James has been here he put up big numbers. I like this meet a lot."

Keshia Baker

women's 500-yard winner

"It was fun. I wanted to come out and have fun. The people here just told me what to do and I have an ability to just run. I knew I had to cut and there would be a bell lap. I'm glad to be here. I didn't really know the history (of Madison Square Garden). This if my first race as a professional and I'm glad for the opportunity. It was a great start. My family lives here and it was good they could come and see me."

Ryan Whiting

men's shot put winner

"It was a lot of fun, I was hear last year and got used to it. It was really my first professional meet last year, and it is a great atmosphere, the best in the U.S. "It's a lot of fun, I wish they would do more of this, with a distance based incentive system. They've been teaching me a ton. They are three guys I respect and they are always there with me telling me what to expect. It's great to beat World Champions and Olympic medalists."

Brenda Martinez

women's mile winner

"I just want to keep the momentum going, but off to a good start. I actually feel a lot stronger than I did a few years ago. I'm not even doing any speed right now, it's all based off strength."

Jillian Schwartz

women's pole vault winner

"It was my first meet of the year and it was good. I really didn't have any expectations coming into the meet. I started jumping really late in training. These are new poles for me and I just got them last week, so everything was kind of new to me, but it was good."

Ajeé Wilson

women's 800m runner-up

"It was very exciting, honestly I was kind of nervous coming into this race knowing everyone was faster than me and had run faster times. But I was also excited because I knew if they were running faster than me, they would pull me to a better time."

Credit to : http://www.runnersweb.com