In Pictures: The sporting year in quotes

"I hope that this medal inspires the kids at home to put down guns and knives and pick up a pair of trainers instead," - Erick Barrondo, Guatemala(***)s first-ever Olympian after winning silver in the men’s 20k race walk in London.

"I(***)m now a legend. I(***)m also the greatest athlete to live," – modest Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt after retaining his 100 and 200 metre titles in London.

"This isn(***)t about bragging rights. This is a lot bigger. This is about a team, an organisation being named world champions," - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning celebrates his second Super Bowl victory.

"It(***)s about damn time," - Miami Heat forward LeBron James finally secures his first NBA title.

"I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall. I have fallen several times. Each time I just get up and I dust myself off and I pray and I(***)m able to do better," – Wimbledon champion Serena Williams on her return to tennis from a from a life-threatening illness.

"It sounds cheesy, but your whole life is for this and the reason I got into cycling as a kid was today," – Britain’s first Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins gets emotional.

"There comes a point in every man(***)s life when he has to say, (***)Enough is enough.(***) For me, that time is now," – disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong announces he will not contest doping allegations.

"The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," - US Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart.

"People were not even mentioning us when they were talking about the championship, but I think the most important thing was that we always kept believing," – Three-time Formula One winner Sebastian Vettel.

"I am more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. When all this is over, what are you left with?" - Barcelona great Lionel Messi who broke Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a calendar year.