So many people along the way,whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can't be done. But it all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will do...
Swimming is normal for me. I'm relaxed. I'm comfortable, and I know my surroundings. It's my home.
I feel most at home in the water. I disappear. That's where I belong.
It's cool just because I've had this dream of changing the sport of swimming and it's finally happening.
I won't predict anything historic. But nothing is impossible.
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 bein...
I can only control my own performance. If I do my best, then I can feel good at the end of the day.
I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.
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 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 great...
And, you know, being able to wear the stars and stripes, when you step up on one of the blocks or, you know, when you step off of an airplane or when you hear the national anthem play, you know, it's...
I think to be - for me to be an American is - you know, it's one of the greatest things in the world for - you know, for me just because I've been able to grow up with everything. The freedom. You kno...
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'd like to change things for the younger...
I want to test my maximum and see how much I can do. And I want to change the world of swimming.
I eat pretty much whatever I want. I don't have a strict diet. It's all about cramming in as many calories into my system as I possibly can.
You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.
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.
There is a one woman in China that claimed she paid $50 to get my e-mail address. It was pretty shocking. I got one this morning from Scotland. A girl's requesting a signed photo of me.
If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren't willing to do.
My mom put me and my sisters in the water to feel comfortable, to have water safety.