Ian Thorpe Quotes

My biggest competition is me.

My biggest competitor? Myself, mentally.

I am not the one who has to try to beat me.

We are competing against ourselves.

I do not compete with anybody else; I compete only with myself. You saw my capacity a few minutes ago. Now I am competing with myself. When I do weightlifting, my body is my world. If I can improve myself, if I can go beyond my previous achievements, then that is my goal. My own previous record is always what I am competing with.

Lance Armstrong pushes the envelope in terms of the human experience. You can have a personal best, you can push your own envelope. For Lance, the person pushing him is him. The only person he's competing with, I think, is himself. To push that limit to the next step. There's a lot to learn from him. Lots.

I have very high expectations of myself. I'm a very competitive person but competitive with myself. I want to be the best that I can be and if that means that I'm eventually better than everyone else then so be it.

I'm competitive with myself. I always try to push past my own borders.

The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself.

Never mind what others do; do better than yourself, beat your own record from day to day, and you are a success.

I was really competitive with myself.

We all understand that this isn't about me beating you and you beating me. It's about each individual competing against himself.

Every time I perform I always kind of outdo myself.

I compete in a sport on an individual basis, but I have never done it for me.

Work hard at your job and you can make a living. Work hard on yourself and you can make a fortune.

Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.

Love your sport. Never do it to please someone else; it has to be yours. That is all that will justify the hard work. Compete against yourself, not others, for that is who is truly your best competition.

I'm not in competition with anybody but myself. My goal is to beat my last performance.

For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my own level. I’m no great runner, by any means. I’m at an ordinary – or perhaps more like mediocre – level. But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.

All successes begin with Self-Discipline. It starts with you.

Set higher standards for you own performance than anyone around you, and it won't matter whether you have a tough boss or an easy one. It won't matter whether the competition is pushing you hard, because you'll be competing with yourself.

I focus on myself, that's how I beat Wladimir Klitschko.

Set higher standards for your own performance than anyone else around you, and your only competition will be with yourself

There is only one person with whom to compete and that is yourself. Keep aiming to surpass your own best performance and ever strive to reach higher levels.

If you think you can do better, then do better. Don't compete with anyone; just yourself.