Cameron van der Burgh Quotes

Actually, I always dreamed about getting a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle in Olympic swimming. I always thought that would be the epic award in sports to get.

My whole swimming career was about training to beat Michael Phelps in any race I possibly could.

After my swims this weekend I think coach realized, you know what, you have to have a good one getting out of this meet. So I put the suit on and had a decent swim.

Getting to the Olympics was, has always been, my swimming dream since I was 8 or 9 years old. You know, right after I started swimming it was, 'I want to make an Olympic team. That's where I want to be.'

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

I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer when I was growing up.

I'm really looking forward to just concentrating on the swimming part now instead of what's going on with me outside the pool.

Michael Phelps wouldn't have been on the Wheaties box if I stuck with swimming. I've been swimming since I was a little kid. I still swim. I'm the best.

Those who know the sport of swimming understand that the grueling practices that fill a pre-Olympic winter lay the base for any success that might come later in the Games, especially if one has it in mind to swim an astonishing eight events.

I want to get faster every year, keep my confidence high, so I can continue dominating my main events and extend my range to other freestyle and medley races.

I race six events. I specialise in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle, and it's not impossible, but it is hard to be able to race every single race, and day after day as well.

I was an avid swimmer and was state champ at age 12.

Swimming is a confusing sport, because sometimes you do it for fun, and other times you do it to not die. And when I'm swimming, sometimes I'm not sure which one it is.

I enjoy racing so much. Ever since I was 8 or 9, I trained every stroke, because it was the only way I could race a lot.

I started swimming when I was four because my brother wanted to join a swim team, and I wanted to do what he did. They said I had to be six, but if I could swim a lap, then I could participate. So I swam a lap, and the rest is history.

Throughout my whole swimming career, I've never been disqualified once. I've never been warned once.

I grew up in Florida, so you start swimming at the age of 1, really. By 10, I was competitive swimming, and by 12, I had aspirations to be the best in the world.

Throughout my career I swam for form. Speed came as a result of it.

It's always great to see young swimmers and their excitement and the joy that they have in the water.

The Olympics was a goal, and definitely, swimming in college was a goal.

Ever since I did that 57.9 last year, the Americans have been analysing me in detail. You can see on the swimming web pages. They are breaking it down in every detail. How many strokes I take. How quick I am in and out of the wall.

Adam Peaty is far and away the best swimmer in the world, and he's British. He set a world record - but the day after we were talking about my dress.

I grew up a competitive swimmer. I wanted to go the Olympics. Both my parents were professional swimmers. I competed internationally quite often, right up until I moved to California to pursue music.

I can freestyle for a while, but I'm not an Olympic swimmer who can go two or three miles.

My coach and I thought I could swim a 57.3 if I executed the perfect race, but I did even better than that.