World-Class Athlete Quotes

To me, being heavyweight world champion and Olympic sprint champion are the two greatest prizes in sport.

Lionel Messi is very difficult to contain.

I want to set myself as a real legend in the sport, like Phelps and Mark Spitz are remembered worldwide. I want people to say, like they say of Ronaldo that he is the best soccer player in the world, I want them to say Chad Le Clos is the best swimmer in the world.

George Best was the greatest player in the world.

When Robben joined Chelsea in 2004 nobody realised how good he was. He was seen as an excellent player rather than a world-class one, and he suffered a lot with injuries. In the years since, he has elevated his game.

A fighter is a fighter and once they're in the top five in the world, you can't say one might not be ready.

We should all learn from Ronaldo, and I, too, have learned, because it's not everyone who gets to work with the best player in the world.

Katie Ledecky is the best swimmer in the world. You could say she's impressive with what she can do in a pool.

There was a lot of pride, being one of the elite fighters in the world, in the best promotion in the world. That's what I was proud of. To be called a UFC fighter, that was important.

The footballer I've admired most in the last ten years is Zinedine Zidane... one of those rare individuals who had the skill but also incredible vision.

Neymar is an exceptional player.

You couldn't put a value on him, he's on another planet. For me, Lionel Messi is undoubtedly the No.1 player in the world.

To be a world champion from Oklahoma is something that really pushes me.

Seeing the intensity and power she brings to the game, it's hard to imagine her being anything but single-minded in pursuing tennis. But Serena Williams has other passions, too. In fact, there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day, week or month for one of the world's most gifted athletes to chase her many interests.

Lionel Messi, getting to meet him, you're a little star-struck in the beginning, of course.

I had only been training for a year and half when I did the World Games. Then the next year I did the British championship as a heavyweight and won that.

Mesut is an amazing player.

I can honestly tell you that playing against Messi is very difficult.

To win an Olympic title when there are 205 nations taking part, you have to be super-human. You have to be superman.

I knew that the stronger that I was, the faster I was going to swim, and thats all I had in my mind at the time, was I wanted to be the best swimmer in the world.

We know what Mesut is like because we see him in training every day. He's world class.

You get a world-class athlete like Hershel Walker, who was a Heisman trophy winner and did some amazing things, but he had a martial arts background. He did kickboxing. He had a combat sports background. It was just rekindling that training and that martial arts workout ethic. He got back into it and did quite well.