Michael Phelps Quotes

1. If you say "can't" you're restricting what you can do or ever will do.


2. I had to do it. I got a Cadillac Escalade. Put some rims on it, threw a couple TV's in there, and installed a system. I stuck my Xbox in there, I had to go for it. I did just sell it though.

3. Why is it such a big deal what I'm swimming?

4. 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. To be honest with you, I have a tough time keeping weight on.

5. You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.









6. Yeah, my friends call me Mike, Michael or just my last name.

7. I don't know for sure. I'll definitely go another four years and then see what happens. I would love to swim in New York in 2012 if the games end up there and finish my career in America. It would be really exciting just to have the games here, and then for me to go out on that kind of stage in my own country would just be amazing, but I'm really trying not to get.

8. I knew I was not a failure in any way, and so did those close to me. It doesn't matter if you fall short; it is never a failure to go after your goals with everything you've got.


9. The support I've received from my sponsors has enabled me to raise the bar in swimming.

10. 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.




11. That's it. Thats Bob's game. His drill…is really quite simple - make a habit of doing things other's weren't willing to do.

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

13. I'm definitely ahead of the schedule where I thought I was going to be at. I'm really happy. I was excited to race and I kept that drive and passion.


14. At the hospital, I was asked for my autograph; I'm right-handed and couldn't sign. So I was asked for photos. While hooked up to IV lines.

15. A buddy of mine actually read of me being in the names of Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. That is a pretty big accomplishment and definitely something I'm proud of. They have changed their sports themselves, so hopefully I can do the same in swimming.

16. 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 one of the greatest feelings in the world because you know that there are people at home who are supporting you and watching you.

17. 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.





18. Being compared to Ian Thorpe, that could be one of the greatest compliments you could ever get in swimming - being compared to him and Mark Spitz.

19. 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.

20. I think the Special Olympics and the Olympics are actually pretty similar. We all have dreams and we all have goals. And you have to work hard to accomplish your dreams and goals.

21. Every day after I wake up, I think: "Wait…this can't be real; I'm still going to wake up."

22. The best way to follow your dreams, is to put GPS on the back of your eye lids.


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


24. I am 26 and, and I don't recover as fast as I have in the past.

25. Swimming is normal for me. I'm relaxed. I'm comfortable, and I know my surroundings. It's my home.

26. 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.


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


28. I got the stamina. I can close.

29. I've always been fortunate in that I've been able to put myself in my own zone and relax. It comes naturally. I'm lucky to be that way.

30. I can't remember the last day I didn't train.


31. This is the first medal I've ever won in an international meet. For it to be gold is incredible. It feels great. I can't explain it.

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

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

34. 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.





35. 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.

36. 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.

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

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

39. 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.

40. I'm so sick of the water.

41. I always thought, it would be neat to make the Olympic team.

42. I want to go to the World Cup. I want to go to the Masters. I want to go…anywhere.

43. If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren't willing to do.

44. 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 know, in my eyes this is the greatest country in the world.

45. I believe in God; I'm not saying I'm highly religious.

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





47. The more you dream the more you achieve.

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

49. 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.

50. It doesn't matter what else is going on. When you walk into your arena or your - whatever you excel at, you're there to take care of the job that you have to do.

51. 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.





52. It's cool just because I've had this dream of changing the sport of swimming and it's finally happening.

53. 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.

54. My goal is one Olympic gold medal. Not many people in this world can say: "I'm an Olympic gold medalist."


55. I try to separate my personal life from swimming.


56. My mom put me and my sisters in the water to feel comfortable, to have water safety.

57. I used to always go to church on holidays, but I don't go much any more.

58. Once I'm already in my room, I still have to open a door to get into my bed. It's like a giant box. It's like the boy in a bubble.



59. Once I retire, I'm retiring. I'm done.

60. People say to me: "You're so lucky. You get to see the world." But I don't. I go to the hotel and to the pools and back again. That's it.

61. 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 generation of swimmers coming along.

62. So, you know, if, if I wanted to get up and just play golf one day, I would just get up and play golf. If I wanted to go to Vegas, I would just get up and go to Vegas.

63. 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.


64. There were times I wouldn't come to practice, because it didn't excite me. It wasn't interesting. I was kind of going through the motions.


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