Rulon Gardner

People consider me a hero, but I turn around and look at the military people overseas. They're the freaking heroes. They're the ones putting their lives on the line for America.

There's no comparison to competition. You can't tell yourself truly where you're at unless you compete in competition.

I'm a wrestler with nine toes. I'm a wrestler who has been through a lot of battles. I get to do a lot of motivational speaking, and people are blown away and say, 'You never quit. You keep coming back.'

The Biggest Loser' was only a steppingstone to my comeback, to my ultimate success. It was a vehicle to give me my life back. It was a vehicle to give me my health.

America's seen me go from Olympic glory to 'Biggest Loser'. I want to go back to Olympic glory again. It's kind of the American way, rebuilding yourself and remodeling yourself and making yourself more of who you are.

People say, 'You're overweight'; they question your heart and character. It's a challenge again, proving to myself and to other people that I'm still here, I still have what it takes.

Even when on 'The Biggest Loser', I was out doing back handsprings on the show, throwing dummies on the mat.

I don't have all this money people think Olympic athletes have.

Ultimately, I didn't look at 'The Biggest Loser' as being my defining moment. I wasn't there to compete and win the money. I wasn't there to win 'The Biggest Loser.' I was there for my health.

When I started out on 'The Biggest Loser,' for me it was kind of embarrassing to be on national TV and go from this wrestling icon, this Olympic gold medalist, to being on 'The Biggest Loser.'

Wrestling pushes me, makes me accountable. It makes me who I am. I never felt I was just a normal person. Then I felt too normal, lazy, sedentary.

Olympic athletes are a different breed. We're not dealing with million-dollar contracts. We don't do the sport for those deals. We do the sport because we love the challenge, the battle. We love to be an American.