Q&A
What was it like to be on the gold medal-winning women's basketball team in Atlanta?
In 1994, we took the bronze medal at the World Championship, even though we were the best team. We lost our focus and got complacent. I didn't want that to happen in 1996.

During the tour leading up to the Olympics we focused on small things. Beating teams by a lot of points meant nothing to us. If we won by 30 and didn't make our pre-game goals, we felt we'd lost. As a result we went 52-0 heading into the 1996 Olympics.

I loved representing America. To make the Olympics is an honor in itself. To get there and win the gold medal while playing the best teams in the world is even more marvelous.

Did you ever experience failure?
In 1991 I was U.S.A. Basketball's "Female Player of the Year." I hurt my knee and had surgery a month before the 1992 Olympic trials. I came back strong and made it to the final 15 players at the trials. I was one of the last players cut, but I thought I had done well.

I used that as a positive. I preach "Positive Mental Attitude," which I call PMA. No matter how hard the challenge, keep working and believing. Going into the 1996 Olympic trials, I knew I'd make the team.

How do you react to the fans in the WNBA?
In 1999, we were playing on our home court. I missed a free throw I should have made, and we lost. Fans were still yelling, "We love you, Ruthie!" Here I thought I had let my fans down, and they were still upbeat for me.

That's why it is so important for me to be positive, to smile and reach out to kids. I answer my own fan mail. Reading their cards and letters gives me inspiration and strength.

The Olympic Spirit in YOU!
Having a positive mental attitude has made Ruthie Bolton-Holifield one of America's top women's basketball players. Use the following exercise to help you apply a positive mental attitude to problems that you face.

List three to five problems you now face at school, home, in sports, or in your activities. List two to three positive things you can do to solve each problem. With the positive things in mind, tackle your problems with a positive mental attitude.

More Interviews

Akhnaten Spencer-El Alison Dunlap Anna Kozlova Barb Kunkel Chris Witty Dominique Moceanu Dan O'Brien Hunter Kemper

Jimmy Pedro Kevin Han Lindsay Davenport Laura Wilkinson Lisa Fernandez Mark Ruiz Ruthie Bolton-Holifield Tom Malchow

With thanks to Bob Schaller. For more great stories about Olympians, ask your librarian about The Olympic Dream and Spirit, Vol. 1,2, and 3, with Mr. Schaller, and Awaken the Olympian Within compiled by John Naber.