Monday, Nov. 04, 2002

Jessica, 20 years old

"In some circumstances, it may be a turnoff to guys that we're strong, but that's the price we pay. We give up some things for others that mean more to us. It's going to feel a lot better when you're winning a gold medal than it does feeling bad when one guy doesn't like you because you have big muscles. So it's a trade-off.

We want to be feminine, like any other girls, but we have this whole other side to our life, where we work our butts off every day doing something we love. To face something very challenging on a daily basis is something not many people do. You feel like you've accomplished something huge. There's nothing better than having a great workout, and doing that over and over again really gives you an edge on other people — especially growing up. You feel you can conquer things.

I think any female athlete has a sense of being kind of like Wonder Woman. You are able to do things that are a little closer to superhuman than normal girls. There's a little bit of Wonder Woman in everyone."