I want to test my maximum and see how much I can do. And I want to change the world of swimming.
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.
Nobody is going to put a limit on what I’m doing.
Nothing is impossible. With so many people saying it couldn’t be done, all it takes is an imagination.
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 got the stamina. I can close.
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 consider myself normal. I’ve spent 20 years in the pool. I consider that something that’s normal.
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 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 don’t want to be the next Mark Spitz; I want to be the first Michael Phelps.
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.
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.
I love to race the best people in the world and the fastest people in the world.
Before, it came easy for me. I don’t have two speeds anymore. I need to focus on the small things that I once took for granted.
Anything is possible as long as you want it, you work for it. Doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, the only person that can really put pressure on you is yourself.
I don’t like to be second in anything. I was trying, I just wasn’t going anywhere.
We’re all a little tired.
We wanted to see how close we could get to the world record. We’ll take that for right now.
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.