Every day after I wake up, I think, ‘Wait… this can’t be real; I’m still going to wake up.’

Being compared to Ian Thorpe, that could be one of the greatest compliments you could ever get in swimming – being compared to him and Mark Spitz.

I want to test my maximum and see how much I can do. And I want to change the world of swimming.

If I didn’t swim my best, I’d think about it at school, at dinner, with my friends. It would drive me crazy.

There is a one woman in China that claimed she paid $50 to get my e-mail address. It was pretty shocking. I got one this morning from Scotland. A girl’s requesting a signed photo of me.

My goal is one Olympic gold medal. Not many people in this world can say, ‘I’m an Olympic gold medalist.’

You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.

I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.

I have the opportunity to be part of swimming history. To take the sport to a new level would be an honor for me. There’s no better time to try this than now.

I want to be able to look back and say, ‘I’ve done everything I can, and I was successful.’ I don’t want to look back and say I should have done this or that. I’d like to change things for the younger generation of swimmers coming along.

I always thought, it would be neat to make the Olympic team.

I have reached a place in my life where I need to sit down and say, ‘Well, what do I do? What’s best for me?’ I need to look into options for the future.

I’m the same kind of guy before all this happened.

Swimming is normal for me. I’m relaxed. I’m comfortable, and I know my surroundings. It’s my home.

Every day after I wake up, I think, ‘Wait… this can’t be real; I’m still going to wake up.’

I wouldn’t say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it.

I won’t predict anything historic. But nothing is impossible.