35 Michael Phelps Quotes From The Famous Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer

Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Dec 12, 2023 By Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Originally Published on Mar 11, 2021
Edited by Monisha Kochhar
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Michael Phelps at a public appearance

Michael Fred Phelps II or better known as Michael Phelps is a former American competitive Olympian swimmer who holds a record for the most number of medals to date, which is 28.

Swimming legend Michael Phelps holds the highest record of gold medals in the Olympics, which is 23. Phelps has set the limit in the Olympics since the 2004 Athens games.

Michael holds the world record in the men's 400-meter individual medley as well as in the long course 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly, and 200-meter individual medley. Michael Phelps achieved these records because he put his mind to it.

This is often true for anything and everything he does. Here are famous Michael Phelps quotes to inspire you to achieve everything.

This list of quotes will include Michael Phelps motivational quotes, famous Olympic sayings, and a list of famous champion quotes. They also include swimming team quotes, perseverance quotes, sports quotes, and how Michael Phelps quotes on repetition and its benefits help others.

If you like these quotes check out Swimming quotes and Simone Biles quotes.

Michael Phelps Inspirational Quotes

Michael Phelps and his last Olympic race.

Here is a list of all the Michael Phelps quotes that can be a source of inspiration for your mind.

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

- Michael Phelps.

2. “You can’t put a limit to anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”

- Michael Phelps.

3. “There are always going to be obstacles that come in your way, stay positive.”

- Michael Phelps.

4. “When I feel tired, I just think about how great I will feel once I finally reach my goal.”

- Michael Phelps.

5.“If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren’t willing to do.”

- Michael Phelps.

6. “It was crazy, if you think about it, if you have a goal that’s so high, that’s so far away that nobody really dreams of a goal like that, all of those little things play such a huge role.”

- Michael Phelps, on his diet.

7. “I felt I had unfinished business. I didn’t want to have that ‘what if’ moment 20 years down the road, where I think back and wonder ‘why didn’t I swim one more Olympics?’”

- Michael Phelps, on why he returned for 2014 Olympics.

8. “If you say 'can’t' you’re restricting what you can do or ever will do.”

- Michael Phelps.

9. “You have to have a dream so that you can get up in the morning.”  

- Michael Phelps.

10. “If you’re not serious about training, conditioning, and practice. You’re not serious about being your best.”

- Michael Phelps.

11.  “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.

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

- Michael Phelps.

13. “I found something I love and never gave up!”

- Michael Phelps.

14. “Things won’t go perfect. It’s all about how you adapt from those things and learn from mistakes.”

- Michael Phelps.

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

- Michael Phelps.

16. "It’s been a part of my life for so long, so walking away will be weird, but it’s something that I’m ready for."

- Michael Phelps, on his retirement.

17. "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."

- Michael Phelps.

18. "I’m doing it to have fun and because I love it. In Mesa, I felt like a kid down there swimming in a summer league meet. That’s something I haven’t had in awhile."

- Michael Phelps, on coming out of retirement.

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

- Michael Phelps.

20. “Maybe since 2008, I haven’t felt this good swimming races back to back to back.”

- Michael Phelps, after his comeback.

Michael Phelps Motivational Swimming Quotes

Here is a list of Michael Phelps swimming quotes.

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

- Michael Phelps.

22. "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."

- Michael Phelps.

23. "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."

- Michael Phelps.

24. "My swimming career might be over, but I have the future ahead of me to turn the page and start whenever I want. It’s not the end of a career. It’s the beginning of a new journey."

- Michael Phelps, after his final retirement, an interview with NBC.

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

- Michael Phelps.

26. “The night before my first Olympic race in Athens, I could see myself in a movie.”

- Michael Phelps, 'Beneath The Surface: My Story'.

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

- Michael Phelps.

Michael Phelps Quotes On Dreaming

Visualization quotes by Michael Phelps as all it takes is a dream.

28. “With so many people saying it couldn’t be done, all it takes is an imagination.”

- Michael Phelps.

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

- Michael Phelps.

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

- Michael Phelps.

31. “So many people along the way, whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can’t be done. But all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan.

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

- Michael Phelps.

32. “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.”

– Michael Phelps.

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

- Michael Phelps.

34. “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 goals with everything you’ve got.”

- Michael Phelps.

35. “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.”

- Michael Phelps.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Michael Phelps quotes then why not take a look at Steve Prefontaine quotes, or Eric Liddell quotes.

Main image credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

Second image credit: Petr Toman / Shutterstock.com

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Written by Rajnandini Roychoudhury

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

Rajnandini Roychoudhury picture

Rajnandini RoychoudhuryBachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature. 

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