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

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

For so long, I looked at myself as literally a kid who was talented who would go up and down the pool. That’s it. Nothing else. Very few people knew who I really was.

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

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.

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

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 got the stamina. I can close.

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

Every sponsor I’ve had has been something that fit my lifestyle, fit my personality.

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

I still remember the days, not wanting to see anybody, not wanting to talk to anybody, really not wanting to live. I was on an express elevator to the bottom floor, wherever that might be.

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

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.

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.