There are some things in life that only swimmers truly understand: green hair; jumping into cold water at the start of 5 AM workouts; permanent chlorine perfume; deck changing; long-lasting goggle marks, etc. While there are several comical, playful aspects of swimming that only swimmers understand, it’s not always fun and games. Plateauing at the peak of training season or struggling to shave off one or two tenths of a second for qualifiers, for example, can make the sport infuriatingly frustrating.
For tough moments, these 10 swimming quotes will help inspire you to zip up your racing suit, snap on your cap, de fog your goggles, and get back in the water.
- “Enjoy swimming for swimming’s sake. We have to spend far too much time in the water to not enjoy the process challenging yourself of moving through the water.” – Jeff Rouse
- “I have been visualizing myself every night for the past four years standing on the podium having the gold placed around my neck.” – Megan Quann
- “The water is your friend…..you don’t have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move.” – Alexander Popov
- “Success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal, it’s courage that counts.” – Alicia Coutts
- “It’s what you do with the rough patches that will define the athlete that you’ll become.” – Dana Vollmer
- “I told myself there was no way I was going to let this training go to waste. It was my time, and I was ready to go.” – Katie Hoff
- “For myself, losing is not coming second. It’s getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I’ve been in.” – Ian Thorpe
- “Swimming is a confusing sport, because sometimes you do it for fun, and other times you do it not to die. And when I’m swimming, sometimes I’m not sure which one it is.” – Demetri Martin
- “Believe in yourself, not only in swimming, but in life itself. You always have to have fun. You have to have an open mind. If you’re not enjoying it, don’t do it. Life’s too short.” – Debbie Meyer
- “Wins and losses come a dime a dozen. But effort, nobody can judge effort. Because effort is between you and you. Effort ain’t got nothing to do with nobody else.” – Ray Lewis
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