Michael Phelps quotes:

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Swimming is more than a once-every-four-years sport. My goal is to bring attention to swimming - to give it some personality.

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

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

The more you dream the more you achieve.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

I'm kind of a creature of habit. Once I get used to doing things, it's like second nature.

I would visualize the best- and worst-case scenarios. Whether I get disqualified or my goggles fill up with water or I lose my goggles or I come in last, I'm ready for anything.

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 engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.

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.

[Phelps] firmly denies that he takes drugs, suggesting that the notorious photo of him smoking from a bong was a one-time lapse of judgment.

I always have on my headphones to block out all of the other distractions and I'm just focused on doing the best that I can.... There a few of them ... DMX Party Up ... Mack 10 BC and Ice Cube Connected for Life. I also listen to the Eminem CD ...whichever song really gets me going that night

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

I try to separate my personal life from swimming.

There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work... THERE ARE NO LIMITS.

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 doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there no limits,

Being able to do something that's never been done before, that's what I've always wanted to do. . . . There was nothing that was going to stand in my way of being the first.

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

Nothing is impossible. With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination.

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

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

Perseverance, determination, commitment, and courage-those things are real. The desire for redemption drives you.

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.

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

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.

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.

I'm so sick of the water.

I got the stamina. I can close.

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

Eat, sleep and swim, that's all I can do,

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.

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.

Before the (Olympic) trials I was doing a lot of relaxing exercises and visualization. And I think that that helped me to get a feel of what it was gonna be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything that I could to get ready for that meet, both physically and mentally

I grew up around the pool with my sisters. Both of my sisters swam. I was always there. So I thought, why not? My mom put us in the water for water safety, so we were comfortable in the water in case anything ever happened. I learned that way, and started liking it more and more.

The only reason I started swimming was for water safety. Then, once I started falling in love with sports, I got more comfortable with it.

I am excited to have the opportunity to help provide the same swim instruction that I received as a child when I was enrolled in a water safety class at five-years-old.

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.

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

At a very young age, I wrote down the goals that I had so I could always see what I wanted to accomplish. And I would look at that goal sheet and think "I still want to do this."So I'd decide "I'm not quitting."

Coming into tonight, I knew it was going to be a great race, ... In the 400, Laszlo put up a 4:10.1 earlier in the year, and so you expect him to put up a good time in (the 200). I knew Ryan was going to be fast coming off his short course season, and he's improved a lot since Athens, so I just wanted to go out there and relax a bit and go out there and do what I had to do.

Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible.

For recovery, I think it's a big deal to eat within a half-hour after you exercise. Otherwise I just try to put carbs into my system before I swim and then load up on the protein after. I don't count calories. Whether it's Sour Patch Kids or Reese's or a bag of chips, if I feel like eating it, I'm going to eat it.

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

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

I don't like to be second in anything. I was trying, I just wasn't going anywhere.

I don't want to be the next Mark Spitz; I want to be the first Michael Phelps

I feel like Aaron brings out the best in me

I felt comfortable in the water. I was in my own world, focused. I love sports and I'm a very goal-oriented person. Once I started falling in love with sports, it was easy. I was able to put my mind on something and go for it. That's how I am with everything, it doesn't matter what it is that I do. If I want to do something, nothing will stand in my way.

I finished my career the way I wanted to.

I have had extreme ups and downs. The biggest thing I learned after I broke my wrist is to never give up. Nothing in life will ever come easy. It depends on how you deal with those obstacles and how you overcome those obstacles. If you can overcome them, you're a stronger person. If you make mistakes along the way, as long as you never make that same mistake again, you're a successful person.

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.

I like to get in my own world. When I'm getting ready for a meet, I always have headphones on, listening to rap music to get myself fired up

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

I love to race the best people in the world and the fastest people in the world.

I see my goals as personal and I always have. That's just been how I've worked.

I think with practice, you can being whatever you want to be, and with a goal you can go in any direction that you want to go in.

I treat every race the same. We all wanted to swim fast today and give something back to the crowd.

I wanted to do something nobody ever did. This goes hand in hand with my goal of changing swimming.

I wanted to get the fastest time in the world this year, but with everything going on, it's a pretty decent swim, ... I knew I was under world record pace. You could tell by the crowd. You can always tell at these meets when something good is going on because of the crowd.

If I want to achieve the goals I've set, I've got to be in tip-top shape.

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

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

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

If you're not on your 'A' game in our workouts every day, you're going to get absolutely smoked.

I'm satisfied in a way because this is an eye opener for me, ... I didn't have the success I've always been able to have. I learned a lot.

It's the Olympics. If you can't get up to swim early in the morning, don't go.

It's tough to put into words right now, but I finished my career how I wanted to. Through the ups and downs of my career I've still been able to do everything that I've ever wanted to accomplish.

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

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

My strategy is that I actually have absolutely no strategy.

Nobody is going to put a limit on what I'm doing.

Not having to travel and being able to settle in has helped me in training life and school life. I've learned to get a grip and take care of myself.

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

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.

One thing with me, and every goal I've had - - in the sport of swimming, my mother didn't know my goals. The only person that knew my goals were my coaches.

Other nights ... I visualize to the point that I know exactly what I want to do: dive, glide, stroke, flip, reach the wall, hit the split time to the hundredth, then swim back again for as many times as I need to finish the race.

Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are. Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to.

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.

Swimming is fun. It's a lot funner than golf.

The one thing that's common to all successful people: They make a habit of doing things that unsuccessful people don't like to do.

The problem with heart disease is the first symptom is often fatal.

Things can change in the blink of an eye!

Things won't go perfect. It's all about how you adapt from those things and learn from mistakes.

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.

We wanted to see how close we could get to the world record. We'll take that for right now.

We're all a little tired.

What does God mean to me? I guess I was made the way I am for some reason, and I've been able to find the talent I have, and I've been able to use it, so I'm grateful for that. I believe in God; [but] I'm not saying I'm highly religious.

When I race, I don't think about it; it just happens.

When I'm focused, there is not one single thing, person, anything that can stand in the way of my doing something. There is not. If I want something bad enough, I feel I'm gonna get there.

When we got in the race, we knew what we had to do and knew what we wanted to do. Having three of four guys from the American record 800 free relay is a pretty solid relay, so we thought we could take a crack at the U.S. Open record tonight. We're all a little tired, but that's fifth-fastest American relay ever, so it's not a bad time. We ended tonight on a great note.

When you use your imagination anything can happen.

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

You can't put a limit anything.

It's not how you start, but it's how you finish.