Swimming Competition 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.

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.

A dozen swimming events have already been completed in the Olympic competition. I wonder where they got the name 'Speedo.' It doesn't sound like a bathing suit, it sounds like a breakfast cereal for meth addicts.

Coming into tonight, I knew it was going to be a great race, ... In the 400, Laszlo put up a 4:10.1 earlier in the year, and so you expect him to put up a good time in (the 200). I knew Ryan was going to be fast coming off his short course season, and he's improved a lot since Athens, so I just wanted to go out there and relax a bit and go out there and do what I had to do.

I wanted to get the fastest time in the world this year, but with everything going on, it's a pretty decent swim, ... I knew I was under world record pace. You could tell by the crowd. You can always tell at these meets when something good is going on because of the crowd.

Grime reminds me that swimming is very gladiatorial.

When I was 10, I went to the Junior Olympics for the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke.

All things being equal, if we could simulate the same scenario, he has a lot more difficult task. He's elected to swim six individual events, as opposed to what I elected to do, which was four.

When I was six, right before I started swimming, we went to a national competition here in Maryland and watched Michael Phelps swim, and I got to meet him afterwards, and I got his autograph. Fast forward nine years, and I'm at the Olympics with him, and it's like: 'Woah.'

I feel good. I'm up there. I got third in the 100 'fly, I've qualified in the top eight already for the 100 freestyle.

Although I come from the world of swimming... my strong point is the running race, and it is the one I enjoy the most. It's where I have had a slight edge over my rivals.

There are younger, stronger swimmers coming up and they are hungry. I can't influence what they do, I only know what I can do and I know how greedy I am to defend my title.

My hope is to be the first disabled swimmer on an able-bodied team at the Y Nationals.

In Athens I was 17 and I didn't have any expectations. I was just swimming fast and racing everybody. I didn't have the joy after my races in 2007. I didn't want to go to Beijing. I had to for sponsors.

I've actually medalled in every single swimming meet except for the Olympics, so that's the goal. I want to get on that podium - I really do. But for me, that's not something I can control... so I will be happy with going out there and swimming a race that I'm proud of.

Just all that hard work, all those hours in the pool, I feel like it's about to pay off. I guess we'll just have to wait and see this summer.