Athens - What they said at the athletics in the Athens Olympics:
"I suffer a great injustice. With all sincerity, I have never made use of illegal substances." Greece's 200m champion from the Sydney Games, Kostadinos Kenteris, reacts to missing a drugs test.
"Mr Konstantinos Kenteris and Ms Ekaterini Thanou along with their coach Christos Tzekos surrendered their accreditations." IOC spokesperson Giselle Davies announces withdrawal of Greek sprinters.
"It has been rough." - Marion Jones, a triple champion in Sydney, after leaving the Athens Games without a medal from the long jump or the sprint relay.
"I am totally devastated because this is what my life has been all about." Pre-race favourite Paula Radcliffe, after grinding to a halt in the women's marathon.
"If I hadn't done it, I'd have been asking myself: should I have gone home. And I knew the answer to that. I couldn't have done that." - Radcliffe, after failing to finish in the 10 000m.
"Amazing things have been happening to me here. Nothing has been going wrong, round by round. Maybe it's fate." - Kelly Holmes cannot believe her luck after completing the 800m/1 500m double.
"This is a victory not only for China but also for all Asian people." Sprint hurdler Liu Xiang becomes the first Chinese man to win an athletics gold medal.
"He's the fastest white guy I ever saw." - 400m silver medallist Otis Harris after gold medallist Jeremy Wariner turns the world of sprinting on its head.
"I have been dealing with those kind of questions since I was a kid." - Wariner grows tired of the skin colour issue.
"When I walk through the door I've got to wait for my butt to come through." - Australian shot putter Justin Anlezark, relieved that he would not have to emulate the Ancient Greeks by competing nude at Olympia.
"This is the reason I train, this is the reason I shovel snow off tracks in North Carolina." - 100m winner Justin Gatlin finds all the effort has been worth it.
"I think the Greek soul is so great that it can carry us to victory." - Fani Halkia of Greece wins a surprise gold in the women's 400m hurdles after making a dramatic improvement in the space of six months.
"It is unbelievable that I can win two Olympic gold medals in the space of five days." - Hicham El Guerrouj waits eight years for an Olympic title, then wins two, in the 1 500m and 5 000m.
