Michael Phelps Quotes

“Even in high school, I'd tell my mom I was sick of swimming and wanted to try to play golf.

She wasn't too happy. She'd say, 'Think about this.' And I'd always end up getting back in the pool.”

“I can only control my own performance. If I do my best, then I can feel good at the end of the day.”

“I can't remember the last day I didn't train.”

“I consider myself normal. I've spent 20 years in the pool. I consider that something that's normal.”

“I feel most at home in the water. I disappear. That's where I belong.”

“I got the stamina. I can close.”

“I have a lot of goals, but I think that I just want to take it day by day.”

“I have reached a place in my life where I need to sit down and say, 'Well, what do I do? What's best for me?' I need to look into options for the future.”

“I have the opportunity to be part of swimming history. To take the sport to a new level would be an honor for me. There's no better time to try this than now.”

“I know it won't be eight medals again. If you want to compare me to that, that's your decision, not mine.

I'm going out there to try to accomplish the things that I have in my mind and in my heart.”

“I learned how fast you can go from being an international hero to being a reference in a joke on a late night talk show.”

“I like to just think of myself as a normal person who just has a passion, has a goal and a dream and goes out and does it. And that's really how I've always lived my life.”

“I listen to music before my competitions to get me pumped up. It helps me stay focused.”

“I live a pretty conservative life, so I probably really haven't done anything crazy.”

“I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.”

“I think sometimes I guess you see records, say you want to get there and use that as motivation. In a way, it's kind of cool if there is a possibility to rewrite history and be up there with the greats of Olympic history.”

“I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.”

“I think the biggest things I am looking forward to is getting new faces into the sport. Getting kids who could be afraid of water to feel comfortable in the pool.”

“I try to separate my personal life from swimming.”

“I want to be able to look back and say: I've done everything I can, and I was successful.

I don't want to look back and say I should have done this or that.”

“I want to test my maximum and see how much I can do. And I want to change the world of swimming.”

“I won't predict anything historic. But nothing is impossible.”

“I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it.”

“I'm so sick of the water.”

“I'm the same kind of guy before all this happened.”

“I've been able to get an excitement back in the water.”

“I've never lifted a single weight in my life.”

“If I bring back only one gold, people are going to say it's a disappointment. But not too many of them own an Olympic gold medal so if I get one I'm going to be happy.”

“If I didn't swim my best, I'd think about it at school, at dinner, with my friends. It would drive me crazy.”

“If you put your mind to anything that you dream, you can achieve it.”