1. The silver medal he earned in Albertville, France, ushered the 27-year-old figure skater into a new existence.
The second-place medal he earned in Albertville, France, gave the 27-year-old figure skater a new status and reputation.

2. He was no longer a nobody who choked at big events, like the 1988 Calgary Olympics, where he finished an unimpressive 10th.
He was no longer a little-known competitor who became nervous and could not win in major competitions, like the 1988 Calgary Olympics where he finished 10th and few people noticed him.

3. No longer the target of loaded questions from reporters covering the ’91 Olympic Trials (“What are you doing here?”).
(He was) no longer asked embarrassing and irritating questions (such as “Why are you here?”) by the reporters reporting on the 1991 Olympic Trials.

4. But I just decided, I’m going to persevere and hang in there, because I have a shot.
But I just decided I’d keep practising and competing, because I really had a chance to win.

5. I looked at my skating career and saw it rewritten and beautiful ...
I reviewed my skating career and witnessed its development into something new and beautiful ...

6. With medal in hand, Paul was suddenly ushered into a world of lucrative endorsements and figure-skating world tours, of exclusive events and autograph seekers.
Now that he was a medal winner, Paul suddenly had many new opportunities to make money from signing advertising contracts to traveling around the world with skating shows, to be invited to special events for famous people and to sign autographs for the fans.

7. Heroism, Paul has observed, requires daily maintenance.
Paul has noticed that heroism requires daily perseverance, i.e. a medalist has to persevere in training in order to keep the honor.

8. ... a hero must look for ways to serve on a regular basis ...
... a hero must find ways to help others or provide service at regular times ...

9. As an Olympic medal loses its luster after years of storage, a hero will lose his credibility if he stops looking to the needs of others.
Over the years the public may forget about an Olympic medal winner and stop trusting him if he does not pay attention to what other people want or need.