A little inspiration can go a long way! Here are 18 quotes that will pull you off the sofa and into the water.
“I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” –Michael Phelps
“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.” –Michael Phelps
“I want to test my maximum and see how much I can do. And I want to change the world of swimming.” –Michael Phelps
“Success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal, it’s courage that counts.” –Alicia Coutts
“It’s what you do with the rough patches that will define the athlete that you’ll become.” –Dana Vollmer
“There is no single way to train, or do anything well. You have to keep thinking, keep doing things.” –Alexander Dale Oen
“I’m trying to do the best I can. I’m not concerned with tomorrow, but with what goes on today.” –Mark Spitz
“Never put an age limit on your dreams.” –Dara Torres
"People ask me 'what was going through your mind in the race?' and I don't know. I try and ...let my body do what it knows". –Ian Thorpe
"I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let the other swimmers think about me, not me about them." –Amanda Beard
"I can't control what everyone else swims but if all goes well I know there are no limits." –Leisl Jones
"Body does what mind prefers." –Lenny Krayzelburg
"I swam the race like I trained to swim it. It is not mathematical. I just let my body do it. It is a lot easier if you let your body do what it is trained for." – Ian Thorpe
“The water is your friend…you don’t have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move.” –Alexander Popov
“Without goals, training has no direction.” –Natalie Coughlin
“It’s not who’s put up the fastest time in the world that year, or who’s put up the fastest time in the previous four years, but who can get their hand on the wall first today.” –Nathan Adrian
“If there is a dream or a goal that you want you have to go for it 100%. Give all you have for the goals that you have.” –Alia Atkinson
"In training everyone focuses on 90% physical and 10% mental, but in the races its 90% mental because there's very little that separates us physically at the elite level." –Elka Graham