On how success feels: “ I didn’t feel anything, apart from maybe when I was on the top podium and they were underneath.”

On modesty: “I changed people’s attitudes. It’s very good to be sexy. My career made it clear that tall girls can do incredible things. I opened the way. Now I’m famous all over the world.”

On dealing with disappointment: ”I will leave what happened on the vault far behind me, like the North Pole.”

On ewww: ”Age isn’t important to me. ‘You know they say a man sometimes prefers older women because they can satisfy him more. It’s the same in gymnastics.”