After my swims this weekend I think coach realized, you know what, you have to have a good one getting out of this meet. So I put the suit on and had a decent swim. Ryan Lochte
All things being equal, if we could simulate the same scenario, he has a lot more difficult task. He's elected to swim six individual events, as opposed to what I elected to do, which was four. Mark Spitz
I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let the other swimmers think about me, not me about them. Amanda Beard
I couldn't beat Michael Phelps. A couple of years ago, I was racing against him and it just kinda dawned on me during the race that there was no chance I was gonna beat this guy. And so I said, if you can't beat him, find a race that he won't swim. Mark Warkentin
I joined the swim team when I was 12, and I was the worst kid in the pool - I was put with a group of 7-year-olds. Lance Armstrong
I literally tried every sport and was miserable. Soccer couldn't hold my attention. I couldn't figure skate. I'm afraid to swim. So I did dance for five years. It came a time where I was getting a little bit bored with it. Alicia Sacramone
I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream.Neil Armstrong
I'd go to swim practice, put my face in the water, and I didn't have to talk to anybody. Swimming was like my escape, but it was also like this huge prison because I felt like I had to swim up to people's standards. Amanda Beard
If I didn't swim my best, I'd think about it at school, at dinner, with my friends. It would drive me crazy. Michael Phelps
My dad was my swim coach growing up, and I tried to get kicked out of practice every day. I was a little devil kid. Ryan Lochte
Obviously, losing a parent is very difficult. I miss my dad every day, but I know he would be proud to see me continuing to swim and going for another shot at the Olympics. Eric Shanteau
Storytelling is a very old human skill that gives us an evolutionary advantage. If you can tell young people how you kill an emu, acted out in song or dance, or that Uncle George was eaten by a croc over there, don't go there to swim, then those young people don't have to find out by trial and error. Margaret Atwood
There is no life for girls in team sports past Little League. I got into tennis when I realized this, and because I thought golf would be too slow for me, and I was too scared to swim. Billie Jean King
This is my 20th year in the sport. I've known swimming and that's it. I don't want to swim past age 30; if I continue after this Olympics, and come back in 2016, I'll be 31. I'm looking forward to being able to see the other side of the fence. Michael Phelps