15 Inspiring Quotes From Olympic Athletes

2021 Olympics Alex Livesey/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images As the Tokyo Games draw near, here are words of wisdom from some great athletes, past and present by Jamie Kenney July 22, 2021

Some days you learn from a book; other days you learn from hours of practice Michael Phelps, swimming picture alliance/picture alliance/Getty Images

I always say my biggest competitor is myself because, whenever I step out there on the mat, I'm competing against myself to prove that I can do this. Simone Biles, Gymnastics Carmen Mandato/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

Friendships are born on the field of athletic strife and the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust." Jesse Owens, track & field ullstein bild Dtl./ullstein bild/Getty Images

If I wasn't dyslexic, I probably wouldn't have won the Games. If I had been a better reader, then [sports] would have come easily...and I never would have realized that the way you get ahead in life is hard work. Caitlyn Jenner, Decathlon Toni Anne Barson/WireImage/Getty Images

I don’t like to lose — at anything… Yet I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks. If winning is God’s reward, then losing is how he teaches us. Serena Williams, tennis Adam Davy - PA Images/PA Images/Getty Images

I never want to be satisfied with losing and I don’t feel that will ever change. It is who I am. I am a competitor. I have always been that way, and always will be. Allyson Felix, track & field Patrick Smith/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

This is my charge to everybody, Do what you can. Do what you have to do. Step outside of yourself. Be more. Be better. Be bigger than you’ve ever been before. Megan Rapino, soccer Ira L. Black - Corbis/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

"I know what I can do so I never doubt myself." Usain Bolt, track & field Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

Failure I can live with; not trying is what I can’t handle. Sanya Richards-Ross, track & field Ian MacNicol/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

You just gotta keep going and fighting for everything, and one day you'll get to where you want. Naomi Osaka, tennis Tim Clayton - Corbis/Corbis Sport/Getty Images

I’m young, I’m handsome, I’m fast, I’m pretty, and I can’t possibly be beat! Muhammed Ali, boxing -/AFP/Getty Images

I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match. Mia Hamm, soccer picture alliance/picture alliance/Getty Images

Only the strongest shoulders can carry the hopes of a nation. Katie Taylor, boxing Julien Behal - PA Images/PA Images/Getty Images

Records are set to be broken. Florence Griffith-Joyner, track & field Tony Duffy/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it lit. Mary Lou Retton, gymnastics picture alliance/picture alliance/Getty Images

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