Daily Quotes                 

Sunday 24th August (Day 16)

"These were truly exceptional Games." - IOC president Jacques Rogge delivers the final words on the Beijing Olympics.

"I was crying straight after my dive, I hugged my coach and he was crying as well. Then I won, I can't believe it." An elated Matthew Mitcham after the Australian diver achieved the highest scoring dive in Olympic history to claim gold in the men's 10m platform in Beijing. 

"Sergey is still the legend and I am just a newbie so I will try and do what I can to be as good as he was." - Australian Olympic gold medallist Steve Hooker sets himself the goal of bettering pole vault legend Sergey Bubka's world record of 6.14m set in 1994.

Saturday 23rd August (Day 15)

"It is very exciting. Australia deserves a medal in this event. I am disappointed that Paul Burgess wasn't out there with me. He is one of my best mates and part of this (medal) is his." - Steve Hooker (athletics) on winning the gold in the pole vault.

"What tends to happen is divers usually perform their 'shaky' dives in the middle of the competition. A lot of divers will open and close with dives they are good at, but the third and fourth dives tend to be more difficult. I don't think it has anything to do with a lack of concentration. For me, my third and fourth dives are always tougher dives." Mathew Helm (diving) on why divers often score lower on their third and fourth dives.

"I am pretty devastated, I really thought I'd be able to bring home a medal. Taekwondo is a pretty unpredictable sport. Regardless of whether you feel on top of the world or not, it can go either way." - Tina Morgan (taekwondo) on losing the bronze medal bout.

"John [Coates] asked me to come and meet him one afternoon and I thought it was because I haven't met him while we've been away and then he said he'd like me to be the flag bearer. I thought 'oh my god' I never even saw it coming at all and I feel so honoured to be given this role." - Stephanie Rice (swimming) after the announcement she would carry the Australian flag at the closing ceremony.

Friday 22nd August (Day 14)

“This is very similar to our heat. I thought that we were in third, but it was very close and difficult to tell. I was waiting for a smile or a nod off our coach. When we found out we finished third it was a great relief.” – Hannah Davis (women’s K4 500m) commenting on close finish that gave Australia bronze.

"We made it hard on ourselves today and I was missing the frame all over the game. I must have missed 10. We made them work hard for the goals Italy managed to score. We stretched the games onger than we needed it to be." - Pietro Figlioli (water polo) on Australia's 17-16 penalty shootout win over Italy.

"It is disappointing that we came in where we did. We deserved a better finish. I hoped to at least make the medal playoffs, but there are four very good teams there. It is still sweet to win, especially against a team like that [Great Britain]. - Nicole Hudson (hockey) lamenting on Australia's 2-0 defeat of Great Britain in the battle for fifth place.

"My hamstrings are killing me, that's for sure. If I sit down, I may not get back up again. My left hamstring has been sore, but then I pushed through and I am glad I did it." - Jared Tallent (athletics) on the difficulties he faced winning the silver, his second medal of the Games, in the 50km walk.

"It's been exciting to watch. I don't think anyone could have planned it better. There's a lot of tough guys out there." - Jared Graves (cycling) after finishing sixth in the inaugural Olympic BMX final.

Thursday 21st August (Day 13)

"Racing here is really tough. We are a little disappointed. We were here for the gold but we missed it because we stuffed up at the start and we parked. We're still extremely happy about the silver." - Darren Bundock (sailing) shows mixed emotions after he and Glenn Ashby finished fifth in the medal race, helping them grab the silver medal overall in the Tornado class.

"Everything pretty much went to plan except for the last lap. The way it unfolded, I just didn't have the legs to match. I couldn't kick, couldn't shake the pack." - Ky Hurst (swimming) on his 11th placing in the inaugural Olympic open water race.

"We came out here and the whole point was to get respect. When you saw so many superstars on the court, you felt a dream come true. But we weren't scared, and we even put them in a difficult situation [by keeping the score close early]." - CJ Bruton (basketball) on the previous night's 116-85 loss to the USA.

"I felt good for 11 laps. At the bell I knew I was in trouble. I couldn't go anymore. I have no excuses, I backed my ability to get into the top four and it bit me on the ass. The semi-finals (heats) are designed to get rid of the weakest runners. When the pressure came on I wasn't good enough." - Craig Mottram (athletics) after missing out on moving on to the 5000m final.

"We did all we could out there today. It was just one of those games. We're running on adrenalin at the moment. Japan's a strong hitting team and it came down to the line. I was pretty tired and it just tried to stay relaxed and focused on what we needed to do." - Tanya Harding (softball) after her team's 12th inning 4-3 loss to Japan the previous night. The loss gave Australia a bronze and put Japan into the gold medal match.

Wednesday 20th August (Day 12)

"It's more about getting your manhood out and showing the other guys you're bigger than them." - Kamakazi (cycling) on the time trial seeding runs involved in BMX's Olympic debut.

"I gave it my all. I put in the effort but my opponent was a lot stronger. It's not like I couldn't control him, he was a little passive at times - he just took his point and backed off. I thought I had the game but i didn't." - Ali Abdo (wrestling) on his defeat in the men's freestyle 74kg class.

"I lied to you. In my heart, I didn't think I'd medal. But then I did. My coach's words were, 'Run your own race, run your own race'. And I actually did for once." - Sally McLellan (athletics) on her prediction to a reporter that she would win a medal in the 100m hurdles and the fruitful instructions from her coach.

"Yeah that's it; it's a bit of a relief. I enjoyed it, I'm glad I made the effort to come back. It's been an invaluable experience [and ] I'm pretty happy with everything. I'm thinking about going back to school and finishing my degree and working. I've finished with [competitive] sports, but i'll always be interested in it; maybe i'll be involved in some way." - Robert Newbery (diving) on his comeback to make these Games and subsequent retirement after the 3M springboard final.

"I can't tell you how much it means to me. Silver could be gold for me right now." - Anna Meares (cycling) after winning silver in the track sprint just seven months after a catostrophic crash in which she fractured two vertebrae.

Tuesday 19th August (Day 11)

"We always put pressure on ourselves when we race. We want to standout and be known as a strong country. As a strong country you are always putting pressure on yourself to get a good result and we've done everyone proud, ourselves included." - Lyndsie Fogarty (canoe kayak) after qualifying directly for the final of the women's K2 500m with partner Hannah Davis.

"It is a great rivalry, but right now they are going to play for the gold. We are playing for the bronze instead. I wish it were the other way around." - women's water polo coach Greg McFadden on his team's one goal loss to USA in the semi - final.

"I guess as young athletes when we come to the Olympics it's not just about competing....there's other sides of things that we see. We meet a lot of people, a lot of athletes, officials from different parts of the world and we learn about each other and our cultures. It's just such a good place to be at the Olympic village. I just think 'Wow, why the whole world is not like this'. You just feel safe, you just meet beautiful people and you just wish the world should be like this. That's probably the message from the Olympic stage to the world." - Youcef Abdi (athletics) on his enjoyment of the Olympics.

"I did too much in the warm-up. He'd been a bit too fresh but i think I flattened him." - Matt Williams (equestrian) on his preparation with his horse, Leconte.

"He kept on putting it on me. He has a good serve, which gave, me a lot of trouble. But i decided I was going to go a lot harder. It felt comfortable in the last four games." - William Henzell (table tennis) on his prelim round win over Algeria's Idir Khourta.

Monday 18th August (Day 10)

"To be honest, sure we shot some threes today to win by a big margin but it was our defence in the first half that was the key. We gained all our offence from our defence." - Matt Nielson (basketball) on his team's efforts at both ends of the floo in the win over Lithuania.

"There have certainly been some challenges in the last four years, no doubt about that. That's synonymous with anyone in an Olympic campaign. If it wasn't for the hard times where you had to overcome it, then it wouldn't be worth getting in the end and it wouldn't be so special. It makes it all better." - Elise Rechichi (sailing) reflects on the long road to her 470 class gold medal with partner Tessa Parkinson.

"It's been 16 years of non-stop, hard physical activity on my body and my mind and it's time now to just soak it in and enjoy. The end of 2008 will be a rest and hopefully Santa Claus can bring me a present that tells me what to do." - Natalie Cook (beach volleyball) on what she will do in the future.

"It definitely stretches out the barriers. It makes the impossible possible and decreases the limitations that we put on ourselves." - Libby Trickett (swimming) on American megastar Michael Phelps' eight gold medals.

"I knew I had to get out on that run. Coming down on that last lap I had to throw in whatever I had left. There's nothing like running scared. I had to make sure I didn't leave anything out on that field. I put every ounce of energy into this." - Emma Snowsill (triathlon) on her gold medal winning run leg.

"I am an attacking player, so today I tried to attack my player before they attacked me. I just tried to use my skills the best that I could." - Miao Miao (table tennis) on her match strategy.

Sunday 17th August (Day 9)

"I'm not sure, I'm not going to decide now. I mean I gave it my all today and got nothing. So it would have been good to go one better. I'm a little older now, I'll see what I feel like, have a break, then see what happens." - Grant Hackett (swimming) on whether he will retired after finsihing with silver in the 1500m freestyle.

"People can say whatever they like. We go out there and upset as many teams as we can. We want to be in the same sentence as the Dream Team." - Patrick Mills (basketball) - on critics who say Australia shouldn't be in the quarter finals.

"I'm really excited. It will do a lot for the sport. People still see BMX as it was in the 1980's. They don't see it for what it's become and how it's evolved." - Tanya Bailey (cycling) on her sport's Olympic debut.

"It's great to get a world record and by three seconds. We were joking in the marshalling area that we could take a couple of seconds off but when we touched and saw we had done it, it was an amazing feeling." - Jessicah Schipper (swimming) on the time her team swam to win the 4x100m medley relay.

"This is our chance to take a slice at the big dog, to step up to the plate and take a swing. I am not fearful. I know the character of the Boomers will show." - Brian Goorjian (coach, basketball) on the probability of his team playing the famed USA squad in the quarter finals.

Saturday 16th August (Day 8)

"Tonight, we're going to eat a lot. I don't know what, but it's going to be a lot." - Nathan Wilmot (sailing) on his plans for the night ahead.

"I'm so shocked, we did what we wanted to do. During the race, it's a case of 'don't think what are you doing here, think we should be here'. Just keep going." - David Crawshay (rowing) after he won the men's doubble sculls gold with Scott Brennan.

"We are disappointed because we had many chances that would have made things go differently. We made some errors and failed to take good care of the ball. I am now looking forward to the next match against China. We will have chances in that match." - Jessica Arrold (hockey) on Australia's 2-1 loss to Netherlands.

"I was never expecting to be a medallist. Bronze is fantastic. I didn't even know until probably the last two kilometres. I just pushed it as hard as I could." - Jared Tallent (athletics) after he shocked himself to win bronze in the 20km walk.

"It was a great race to be part of, just a spectacle. That's the type of thing I was dreaming of last night. I knew I could be right up there pushing for a medal and it's amazing. Words can't comprehend the way I'm feeling at the moment." - Andrew Lauterstein (swimming) on his bronze in the 100m butterfly. Michael Phelps won the race to equal Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at a single Olympic Games.

"We have a guaranteed silver, but we won't be happy with it. We're going for gold. This has been our best regatta in a long time. Last year we lost a big regatta, and from that, we learned that you have to lose to show you how much you want to win." - Elisa Rechichi (sailing) plays philosopher ahead of the women's 470 battle for gold.

Friday 15th August (Day 7)

"It's not the end of the world for us if we don't, but it is important for us and our confidence to go undefeated and keep on that path." - Penny Taylor (basketball) on the prospect of being undefeated in the preliminaries.

"We were a little bit nervous, we weren't 100 per cent today, but the way we came out to win was amazing." - Tamsin Barnett (beach volleyball) on their tough game against Greece.

"The qualification was a bit off for me, but I hit my final shots and I am very happy with these results." - Warren Potent (shooting) on winning bronze in the 50m prone rifle event.

"I'm wearing my favourite undies and I listened to my favourite dance music to pump me up." - Janelle Shepherd (judo) explaining a few of the things that helped her win her opening bout.

"I really tried to focus on my own race but I knew I was hurting so the field would be coming straight back at me. I just wanted to get to the wall." - Libby Trickett (swimming) on her finish to the 100m freestyle. She won silver.

"I think we learned a lot. We were slow early. We struggled. We had not had a game like that and we had to fire up in the third quarter, get some fire in the belly and turn it around." - Suzy Batkovic (basketball) on Australia's 96-73 win over Latvia.

"To win [a medal] wasn't in my wildest dreams, something I didn't think I would achieve." - Jacqueline Lawrence (canoe/kayak) on her surprise silver medal in the K1 slalom event.

Thursday 14th August (Day 6)

"I couldn't have asked for a better way to finish the meet, I'm just so excited and to be a part of the team with these girls and to smash the world record, I couldn't ask for anything more." - Bronte Barratt (swimming) after after helping Stephanie Rice, Linda MacKenzie and Kylie Palmer to gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

"I almost had a heart attack when Macca was swimming that last 50 [m]." - Barratt again. This time describing MacKenzie's last lap for the gold.

"We're one of the underdogs here, that's the role we're assuming." - Martin Barras (coach, cycling) plays down his team's chances at the velodrome.

"It was far from great, pretty ugly. It took us about four quarters to get it right. We must come out to play patiently because we are too nervous and anxious. We must take a lot more calm and controlled approach." - Gavin Woods (water polo) following Australia's win over Canada, 8-5.

"This match was a dream for me - I played my best match I could against China, in China at the Olympics." - William Henzell (table tennis) on his match against the host nation.

"After being two [matches] down it is hard to get back up, but Australians never give up. We knew that if we won today we are still in this and we're going to give it our best shot." - Patrick Mills (basketball) on his team's match against Iran. Australia won 106-68.

Wednesday 13th  August (Day 5)

"We don't have an opportunity to lose, but an opportunity to win." - James Marburg (rowing) on the men's four making the final.

"Nat was amazing. I'm pretty happy to be playing with her. I'm happy with the win and very happy with finishing first in our pool." - Tamsin Barnett (beach volleyball) talking about her team mate Natalie Cook after the pair defeated Brazil 2-0.

"It feels like you have been robbed. It's the most important game of the draw and the referees should let the players decide the game." - Greg McFadden (coach, water polo) after several controversial refereeing decsions allowed Hungary to snatch a late draw against Australia.

"I tried not to look over too much on the last lap. I knew that we were side by side and I tried to close my eyes and focus on all the hard sets we've done [in training]." - Stephanie Rice (swimming) describing her last lap heroics that led to her second gold at the Water Cube.

"I think we are all pretty happy to come home with some bling," - Megan Jones (equestrian) after Australia's eventing team won the silver in Hong Kong.

Tuesday 12th August (Day 4)

"It was hard to get a rhythm out there...he was very experienced. I will be so much more experienced in London with four years under my belt." - Stephen Sutherland (boxing) after his bout against Walid Cherif from Tunisia.

"I think I'd swap just about every medal for an Olympic medal so it's good to have one. Really good." - Robin Bell (canoe/kayak slalom) on winning bronze in the C1.

"We have a strong defence and I think that's very important. We made it hard for Spain to score and we seized every opportunity." - Nikki Hudson (hockey)

"There will be no sugar-coating it. You don't win the game in the first quarter, you lose it. We lost the game in the first quarter." - John Fox (men's water polo coach) on their 9-8 loss to Spain.

"It's amazing. It's my dream. It's what I came here to do." - Alicia CouttsMonday 11th August (Day 3)

"It's more than I could have dreamed of. More than anything, I'm relieved...I felt this amazing sense of calm come over me...I wanted to walk away with no regrets." - Libby Trickett (swimming) on her gold medal win in the 100m butterfly.

"I just came in wanting to get better than I did then (Athens 2004) - an individual medal." - Jessicah Schipper (swimming) - on her bronze in the 100m butterfly.

"I rode carefully fast and also defensively and took some risks. All in all it was smoother than I thought and it was a lot of fun." - Megan Jones (equestrian) on the cross country

"I'm so pumped to get our first win and I know there's heaps of improvement left in me. I am looking forward to my next fight against the Russian...it will be tough but I am confident." - Anthony Little (boxing) after becoming Australia's first winner of the boxing tournament.

"We had a bit of a steering issue right from the start and after about 700 metres it got too hard to manage. We veered into the lane beside us where the Canadians were and we did a great job of not hitting them." - James Tomkins (rowing) explaining the Aussie eight's equipment issues.

"It's better than judo - you're out there for a minute and you can get demolished and walk off. Someone got demolished in a minute yesterday so, you know, I had a good hour maybe." - Alicia Molik (tennis) puts a positive spin on her 58-minute defeat in the first round of the singles.

Sunday 10th August (Day 2)

"She'll have trouble sleeping tonight, there's no doubt about that with all the excitement. Maybe (she'll get) a little sleep during the day tomorrow. She's got to focus herself, because she's still got the 200m medley tomorrow." - Michael Bohl (coach, swimming) on Stephanie Rice's excitement level after winning gold.

"I think later I might feel good about it, but right now I am gutted." - Kristie-Anne Ryder (judo) on her feelings about the Olympic Games after losing her match against Belgian Ilse Heylen.

"It wasn't what I was looking for this morning. I thought I had it in me but it wasn't to be. I gave it everything I had and it was a pretty quick field." - Grant Hackett (swimming) - on his 400m freestyle

"I am very disappointed. He (All Luck) got very tense and angry. I think he is just having a bad day unfortunately." - Shane Rose (Equestrian)

"I've beaten him a couple of times before. I have no fear of racing anyone." - Brenton Rickard (swimming) on rival and gold medal favourite in the 100m breaststroke, Japan's Kosuke Kitajima.

Saturday 9th August (Day 1)

"I could have gone out in a paper bag or a hessian bag as long as it had Australia written on it and the Olympic rings." - Natalie Ward (softball) on Australia's opening ceremony uniform.

"They were tubby, and we're thinking that that may help us." - Amber Halliday (rowing) on her Finnish rivals in the women's lightweight double sculls.

"I don't think the Chinese are too apt at taking all of their clothes off." - Natalie Cook (beach volleyball) thinks the local fans might have a harder time coping with the heat .

"It would mean the world to me. It would be unreal, I would just like to share it with Australia." - Michael Diamond on what it would be like to win gold medals in the same event at three Olympic Games.

"It wasn't too bad. We were just getting out the nerves I haven't felt in four years." - Lauren Jackson (basketball) on their first match against Belarus.

"We did what we had to do. We came a little late but we've enjoyed it and we are happy we've done it." - Kristi Harrower (basketball).

"She's very consistent. She's such a horse that you can trust completely." - Lucind Fredericks (equestrian) on her horse, Headley Britannia.

"You can always be better with Dressage. making mistakes is difficult to take but the horse tried really hard and I'm happy with him today." - Clayton Fredericks (equestrian) on his performance in the 3 day eventing.

Friday 8th August 

"I used my rationality to understand her irrationability (sic)." - Stephan Widmer (coach, swimming) on Libby Trickett's emotional demeanour.

"It's the biggest circus on earth." - Karyn Gojnich (sailing) on the Big Show.

"We have the best team. We have so much talent and such a good group of girls that play so well together. We have worked hard and our chemistry is what makes us so good." - Penny Taylor (women's basketball) waxes lyrical about her team.

"We believe in ourselves to win close games. It's a different team, there are five new members and we are young, strong, swim fast and have a lot of talent." - Rafael Sterk (men's water polo) describes his team.

"The America's Cups and World Championshipswere special, but this is very, very, very special. It's something I've worked harder for than anything else I have done, so that prioritises where it sits for me." - Iain Murray (sailing) on how important the Olympics are to him.

"We like to be the underdogs, it keeps us level headed. The way Australia performs best is when no one gives us a chance." - Andrew Bogut (men's basketball) talking about his team's chances.

"I thought about it in training the other day, a gold medal would be the icing on the cake. I have already got the base, the icing and all I need now is the cherry. If i don't get it, I won't be too disappointed, the cake is pretty good as it is." - Leisel Jones (swimming) on why she'd won't be too upset if she doesn't finish first in either the 100 or 200 metres breaststroke.

Thursday 7th August 

"I can tell you that when we were at the Worlds earlier this year, every single day of the World Championships a different gentleman came with a box of chocolates or a big bouquet of flowers. I think they warmed to her very much." - David Zalcberg (table tennis) on the popularity of team mate Miao Miao in China, the country of her birth.

"The US and us are hunted. People are playing for their nation. Teams come up against us and they know they've got nothing to lose." - Jan Stirling (coach, women's basketball) on her expectations for a tough tournament.

"The conditions here may be hot and humid but that's great for us, we're used to it. We've had to learn how to play in different conditions and we know how to go about things to ake sure we not only play well but also play to conditions." - Mark Milligan (football) on his team's ability to handle the sweltering conditions in Shanghai

Wednesday 6th August

"Tamsyn's not known for hiding her light under a bushel." - Peter Montgomery (Australian deputy chef de mission) on Tamsyn Lewis' claims that doping had taken over her sport.

"The thing that makes me really mad is that we've got to give up our blood and our urine. That's our blood and our urine....when they do catch the drugs cheats they should boot them out." - Robert Newbery (diving) reveals his frustrations with dope tests.

"On the bike it's fine, it's just walking around that is the problem, but the doctors assure me that by the day of the (road) race I won't even know I had an injury." - Cadel Evans (cycling) on 'that' knee, injured while out on the town in Paris celebrating his runner-up finish in the Tour de France.

"I have decided to focus all my energy onto the relay. I know I have five other guys relying on me and I want to do everything to make sure Australia has the best relay team possible." - John Steffensen (athletics) after withdrawing from the individual 400 metres.

Tuesday 5th August

"Well, you come here to win a medal, everyone does. I want that for myself." - Alicia Molik (tennis) on her expectations for the Games.

"I actually walked into a local shop in 1996 and the shopkeeper was actually a shooter at Werribee gun club and he said to me 'Russell Mark's just won gold in Atlanta', why don't you take up shooting. I knew nothing about it and had never fired a gun." - Stacy Roiall (shooting) on how she 'stumbled' onto her sport of shooting.

"My wife thinks I've just gone out for a carton of milk and I'll be back in a minute." - Russell Mark (shooting) when explaining how he didn't think he would qualify for his fifth Olympic Games

Monday 4th August

"I feel great, I feel fit, healthy and ready to go, I'm playing well so it's going to come down to whatever happens on the day out on the court and I think I've got as good a chance as anyone." - Samantha Stosur (tennis) on her chances in Beijing.

"It means everything. The boys are pumped and we're ready to go out there and shock the world. We've got the right mixture of boys to bring home a medal." - Jade North (football) on competing in the Olympic Games.

"It's a very great pity. We feel for those people, some of whom I know." - John Coates (2008 Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission) on the Olympic ticket scam

Sunday 3rd August

"The way I am feeling at the moment, I reckon I could do another one." - James Tomkins (rowing) on the possibility of a seventh Olympic Games in London 2012.

"Once you are in the top eight anything can happen. Gymnastics is such a precise sport." - Daria Joura (gymnastics) on the artistic gymnastics competition.

"I don't want to go to the Olympics unless I can do a good result for myself and the team."  - Cadel Evans (road cycling) on his injury affecting his performance at the Games.

Saturday 2nd August

"Everyone's going to work really hard to try and get her right for the tournament. It's always hard when anything happens to anybody but there's a great comraderie among the team." - Hope Munro (hockey) on teammate Fiona Johnson's injury.

"Getting off to a good start is vital but i thinki for us it's no secret that every time we go to the business end that it's what we come to play for." - Rob Hammond (hockey) - on the game plan for the men's hockey team.

"As a team we're just supporting each other and that comes very naturally for us. When we're outside, we have a great skill (for) having fun." - Daria Joura (artistic gymnastics) on working as a team.

"We have had a fairly successful run up to the Olympics. We won all the tournaments, including the Champions Trophy, the Oceania Cup and a test series against Korea. Of course, this does not guarantee the success at the Olympics." - Barry Dancer (head coach men's hockey) on the team heading into the Games.

Friday 1st August

"I think it is going to be a great race, bit it's going to be tough." - Graeme Brown (track cycling) - on the men's team pursuit race coming up in Beijing.

"Blue Sky! A lot of rain last night and it's clearly the best day that we've had since we've been here." - John Coates (2008 Australian Olympic team Chef de Mission) on what he saw when he looked out his window this morning.

"I believe our team has prepared very well. The sport of canoeing over the past few years hs certainly been building towards this and needed to build towards this." - Clint Robinson (canoe/kayak flatwater athlete) on the team's preparation for the Games.

Thursday 31st July

"Although this is my third Olympic Games, I am not bored with it. It is always more fun to be in it. I will be disappointed if we do not do well." - Angela Lambert (hockey) - on her third Games appearance.

"I think we've got a good balance of experience and youth...It's very realistic for us to want gold." - Melanie Wells (hockey) on the women's team.

"We are ranked no.8 or no.9 in the world but this time we're here for a medal." - Andrew Palfrey (sailing) - on his target for the Games.Wednesday 30th July

"We didn't have any problems last year, and we've been here for a couple of days already and it seems to be fine. It's hot of course but we don't really have any problems with it." - Nikki Hudson (Australian women's hockey co-captain) on the weather conditions in Beijing.

“The team is a balance of experience and youth, we have a great chance for a medal." - Melanie Wells (Australian women's hockey team co-captain) on the make-up of the Olympic team.

"I haven't raced in front of so many people before. It's my first Olympics. It's a little bit daunting but I'm hoping to use it to lift my performance." - Jacqui Lawrence (canoe/kayak slalom) on the spectator seating at the slalom venue.

"We are just being a bit selfish, we want to swim to the best of our ability and we both mutually agreed that being together is something that won't work during this month." - Eamon Sullivan (swimming) on his break up with teammate Stephanie Rice.

Monday 28th July

"To their credit, BOCOG have already responded - we've already seen the slowing of speed of the buses, respect at pedestrian crossings...they are being very cooperative and they are listening to suggestions" - Craig Phillips (2008 Australian Olympic Team Chief Operating Officer) on the traffic situation in the Olympic Villlage.

"In terms of feeling threats against the team or the Games we don't feel any of that at all, we think the Chinese are on top of it." - Craig Phillips (2008 Australian Olympic Team Chief Operating Officer) on terrorist threats.