Best Athlete Quotes & Sayings

Twenty years from now, I can look at this medal and say, 'I was the best quarter-miler in the world on that day.' If you don't think that's important, you don't know what's inside an athlete's soul. — Vincent Matthews

As an athlete you've got to watch your hydration and your nutrition, and use the right kinds of fuel to help you perform your best. — Derrick Brooks

To me, breakfast is my most important meal. It's often the meal you play a game on. I make sure I have oatmeal, milk, and fruit. It's the fuel you use to hopefully do your best, so eating right is a big part of being a professional athlete. I wish I paid more attention to it earlier in my life. — Andrew Luck

Our best intentions are often thwarted by external forces - forces that we ourselves set in motion long ago. Decisions, especially bad ones, create their own kind of momentum, and momentum can be a bitch to stop, as every athlete knows. — Andre Agassi

The Olympic Games are always in the head of every sports athlete. We work for that. The Olympics are the most important race. They're each four years, and everybody wants to show their best performance. — Tina Maze

When I watch a singer perform, or an athlete, I can't help but be driven to be the best I can be at my craft. — Jonathan Sadowski

Sport, at its best, at its most human, is able to inspire an innocence and joy that is unique to each of us. — Richard J. Corman

Adversity, if you allow it to, will fortify you and make you the best you can be. — Kerri Walsh

Definitely, injuries are tough, and they happen to every athlete in every sport. The best athletes put it behind them and keep pushing forward. I haven't really had a choice; I've had so many injuries. And the love of BMX, I haven't wanted to stop no matter what. — Tory Nyhaug

The best athletes in any sport take stretching very seriously before and after matches. Stretching is instrumental in any athlete's physical success. — Jozy Altidore

You are not an athlete because of what you can do, but because of who you are: a team player, someone who never quits, who strives to be his personal best, and who believes in fair play. — Rosemary Rawlins

It feels amazing - really, really great! It was so nice to be out there and be cherished by all the people. It has been a great event, the best you can experience as an athlete. We are very happy with how everything has worked out in the competition. Everything was very good and we're really happy we accomplished our goal. — Margaretha Sigfridsson

Fatigue makes fools of us all. It robs you of your skills and your judgment, and it blinds you to creative solutions. It's the best-conditioned athlete, not the most talented, who generally wins when the going gets tough. — Harvey MacKay

The inspector stood up and reached for his leather jacket. There was a whiff of aftershave. He looked every inch TV's idea of an undercover cop. I had noticed the Princess register his star quality as we arrived at his office half an hour earlier. That was good. An attractive male lead always brought out the best in our unpredictable royal performer. "If you're ready . . ." he said, heading for the door with an athlete's easy grace. His amused expression promised further treats in store.
The Princess followed him meekly. Her eyes were demurely lowered, as if to retain the image she had just seen. I knew she was enjoying herself - she was fascinated by the forbidden. — Patrick D. Jephson

When you're a professional athlete, you get paid millions of dollars for doing something that's not only fun, but also physical and badass. You have fans: pathetic people without their own lives or hopes or dreams that measure their happiness on your weekly performance (this still boggles my mind, but in the best way possible - however, my role as a fan now is quite detached). You get to travel around to different cities and fuck their most beautiful women. You are given license to do pretty much whatever you want all the time, and are forgiven easily and often instantly when caught doing anything illegal. Professional athletes can literally get away with murder. — A.D. Aliwat

I realize that there are many variables outside my control in my quest, but focusing on the big goal down the road really motivates me. To help me stay focused, I set micro-goals such as races or training achievements that bring me one step closer to being at my best for major goals — Lance Armstrong

It is to create the best Games the world has ever seen by unlocking the UK's unrivalled passion for sport, by delivering the best Games for athletes to compete in, by showcasing London's unmatched cultural wealth and diversity and by creating a real and lasting legacy. — Sebastian Coe

Furthermore, some of the best people in the country were connected with the Communist movement in some way, heroes and heroines one could admire. There was Paul Robeson, the fabulous singer-actor-athlete whose magnificent voice could fill Madison Square Garden, crying out against racial injustice, against fascism. And literary figures (weren't Theodore Dreiser and W. E. B. DuBois Communists?), — Howard Zinn

I was probably in the best shape of any athlete at the time, but you don't get to pass judgment on yourself. — Steve Carlton

You have to have the mentality of executing your game when you don't feel like there's a lot of hope. I think the best feeling is when somebody pushes you to the limit and you dig down a little bit extra. By the same token, you also need a little luck. Sometimes they come together. — Andre Agassi

I think today's athletes generally are spoiled by what's happened to salaries, but I also think that golfers have maintained the best demeanor of any sport. — Arnold Palmer

I think when you are the parents of a gifted athlete, the best thing in the world you can do is to encourage them, in my opinion. My dad didn't push me and I didn't push my children in athletics. — Bob Lilly

For any athlete growing up, the Olympics is the one thing you watch with your family, and it's the one thing you dream about. Seeing your country's flag go up as you get a gold medal is the best thing you can achieve. — Abby Wambach

The biggest thing for me with charity is awareness. Obviously as an athlete, I have an opportunity to make people more aware. The average person doesn't have that opportunity, so the best way is to spare some money, clothing, food - something. Most of us have a little excess of something that we can give. — Landon Donovan

In boxing, where most of the guys are from lower-class backgrounds and have darker skin than most of the fans, one might fear that the athletes are being exploited. But that narrative doesn't hold up very well in the world of MMA, where 99 percent of fighters are amateurs who will never earn a dime. They aren't seeking fame and fortune. For the most part, these guys are fighting because they want to and because it gives them an opportunity to strive for something big in their lives. It gives them a chance to become their best selves. — Jonathan Gottschall

Carl Yastrzemski was the best all-around player. He could run, throw and hit. He had the ability to play a number of different positions. He signed as a shortstop. He could play the outfield, of course, and third base and first, too. He was a tremendous athlete. Mickey Mantle was unbelievable, too. — Al Kaline

Every time you compete, try harder to improve on your last performance. Give nothing short of your very best effort. — Elgin Baylor

I know I will have to come to forgiveness and acceptance of what has happened for me to go on and be happy in the future. And I know I will get there eventually. I wish him all the best in the future, as a person and as an athlete ... I feel privileged to have witnessed a part of his golfing career. — Elin Nordegren

I just started training with the best fighters in the world trying to get better. I was a pretty good athlete so I did pretty well with the team and that gave me confidence that I would be able to compete with people. — Robbie Lawler

As a professional athlete, I believe that I need to explore my opportunities to the maximum, in order to excel and continue to play the best football I can. — Hidetoshi Nakata

If you want to make it as a sportsperson - Become knowledgeable in the sport you want to participate in. Think about the sport and what it can offer in its entirety. You shouldn't want to become a professional sportsperson because of the money. There's a lot more to gain from being involved in sport. Work hard to get what you want. If it's your ambition, go for it. You don't have to be the best in the world to make it as an elite athlete. You need to be a grafter and be prepared to sacrifice. — Hope Powell

Representing Canada as a hockey player is always a tremendous honor, which also comes with a lot of responsibility. Being able to compete and win a gold medal on our home soil made it a once in a lifetime experience. Capping off the best ever performance by not only the Canadian athletes, but also Vancouver and all Canadians, made for an amazing Olympic experience. — Scott Niedermayer

I think you can just go out and try to be the best you can be, deal with people with respect, with honesty, with integrity, have a high moral standard. I've always really tried to exemplify that as an athlete. I'll continue to try to do that. — Tom Brady

As an athlete, you'll never feel bad about losing, but what you will feel bad about is underperforming. That's a real thing and it happens a lot when we don't live up to our potential. And that keeps you up at night and can give you years and years of regret. It could be a relationship, it could be a homework assignment, or it could be an athletic competition. If you don't go out and perform to the best of your ability, it will really bother you. — Chael Sonnen

At the end of the week, when we sat down to dinner, all eyes went to the trays on the table, where browned-to-perfection mini corn dogs cuddled up against a variety of dipping sauces.
"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me." A lineman wiped a tear from his eye.
"It's like Christmas," I said, all choked up.
"I love you, Coach." The quarterback's bottom lip quivered.
We dove into the pile of savory sausages, watched NFL football, and forgot our aches, pains, and camp struggles. — Jake Byrne

I want to see all the countries in the world and learn all the languages. I want to have thousands of friends and I want all my friends to be different. I want to play six instruments. I want to be the best in the world at two things. I want to be a great athlete and I want to be a great surgeon. I need to practice very hard every day. I need to sleep as little as possible. I need to read at least one major book every week. And I need to remember that my seventy years are going to go by too quickly. — Diana Nyad

I'm an athlete, so I can dress down with the best of them. I can throw on t-shirts and sweats with the best of them. — Dwyane Wade

A helluva athlete, the best ever to play his position in the history of the game. — Al Davis

It's easy to forget when you're an elite athlete that everyone else gets nervous as well. Even the best people in the world, at whatever they do, they're still nervous — Leisel Jones

People want athletes to cater to their image of what an athlete should be, but they also want them to fail so they can feel like their screwups are all right. If I make a priority shift, I'll make it because it's best for me. — Bode Miller

You can be an ordinary athlete by getting away with less than your best. But if you want to be a great, you have to give it all you've got-your everything. — Bill Vaughan

Like books, sports give people a sense of having lived other lives, of taking part in other people's victories. And defeats. When sports are at their best, the spirit of the fan merges with the spirit of the athlete. — Phil Knight

(About importance of focusing on one sport at a time) I've never tried to do that, we have more of a holistic approach. We want to become better decathletes and better competitors. I think for us that means just toeing the line at whatever it is we're doing that day and being confident in preparing as best as we can. Later in the year, late in the season when we have all of the thousands of reps under our belt, we can try to maybe focus on one or two things and leave some stuff off one week. Really, we like to keep everything inside the routine and part of the process. — Trey Hardee

The best athlete wants his opponent at his best. The best general enters the mind of his enemy. The best businessman serves the communal good. The best leader follows the will of the people. All of the embody the virtue of non-competition. Not that they don't love to compete, but they do it in the spirit of play. In this they are like children and in harmony with the Tao. — Laozi

Your best athletes might give basketball a try just when they think, geez, this might be something that pays off for me in the end. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

About strip clubs and athletes. The best way I can explain why a lot of players end up there is because it's one of the safest places a high-profile person can spend time in a boring city. — Shaquille O'Neal

You will be competing against athletes from many nations. But, most important, you are competing against yourself. All we expect is for you to do your very best, to push yourself just one second faster, one notch higher, one inch further. — Ronald Reagan

To achieve in sports you first have to have a dream, and then you must act on that dream. The best athletes are those who truly enjoy what they are doing and display a tremendous amount of work ethic. They continue to persevere in spite of setbacks and never lose sight of their ultimate goal. — Dianne Holum

I was a professional athlete, the best baseball player in the world at one point. — Jose Canseco

I've never felt that I was less of an athlete or not accomplished athletically because I didn't win an Olympic medal. It's definitely something I would have liked to have added to my resume, but at the same time I think I can look back at my athletic career and feel that I was one of the best. — Mary Decker

Understand that I'm at my best when it comes to proving a point, not only to show that I'm a better fighter and a better athlete at 40½ years old, but I'm at my best when I know I've got to beat the system again. — Bernard Hopkins

There is something that can happen to every athlete and every human being; the instinct to slack off, to give in to pain, to give less than your best; the instinct to hope you can win through luck or through your opponent not doing his best, instead of going to the limit and past your limit where victory is always found. Defeating those negative instincts that are out to defeat us, is the difference between winning and losing - and we all face that battle every day. — Jesse Owens

There's nothing masculine about being competitive. There's nothing masculine about trying to be the best at everything you do, nor is there anything wrong with it. I don't know why a female athlete has to defend her femininity just because she chooses to play sports. — Rebecca Lobo

Do your best ... really that's all you can ask for from an athlete. — Jessica Penne

All I got to do is keep getting the most out of each one of my days and keep trying to be the best athlete I can become. — Derrick Rose

Strive to be the best you can be ... focus, watch, listen, and learn. Try never to be satisfied with 'good enough' ... and above all, love what you do-share that passion with others, and always stay humble. Nobody likes a 'big head' no matter how good you are. — Robby Naish

At the Cardiff World Cup I really would like to make the final. The favorites are still Peter, Daniele or Vavra, but I will try to do my best in order to be closest as possible to these athletes. — Benjamin Boukpeti

Growing up, I started developing confidence in what I felt. My parents helped me to believe in myself. I wasn't the best looking guy, I wasn't the best athlete in the world, but they made me feel good about myself. — Herschel Walker

The best way to show respect to your fellow athletes is to give the best performance you can. — Cheng Fei

Awake! arise! the hour is late!
Angels are knocking at thy door!
They are in haste and cannot wait,
And once departed come no more.
Awake! arise! the athlete's arm
Loses its strength by too much rest;
The fallow land, the untilled farm
Produces only weeds at best. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

My heritage is something that I have always been aware of, however, some would say that there is a disproportionately low number of Asians as professional athletes. I take pride in trying my best to be a role model to show young Asian American boys and girls that they are only limited by the size of their dreams. — Nathan Adrian

I'm trying to take a positive out the disappointment, but I'm also trying to do what's best for my career as well. — Dathan Ritzenhein

I'm just a skinny kid from Maywood trying to do my best. I never took anything for granted. I never wanted to come off like some kind of big-headed, conceited athlete. — Michael Finley

To me the Olympic spirit embodies the magic of competition, hard work and coming to a point in your career when you're around the best athletes in the world, and having the whole world watching. — Julia Mancuso

I try to be a smart quarterback. I'm not the fastest or the best athlete, but if I can know what the defense is doing and stick to my job and what needs to be done I can make the plays needed to move the ball and score. — Eli Manning

Doing your best is more important than being the best. — Shannon Miller

Ideally I would start by racing my athletes once every two weeks. But, such a program has to be flexible because some runners improve better with weekly races or even bi-weekly races. A coach has to adjust to what is best for the runner. — Gerry Lindgren

When you reach a certain level, you live in a bubble when all you think, dream and breathe is becoming the best athlete in the world. — Katarina Witt

If we had to play Augusta National in one hour, the best athlete would win the Masters. But as it is, they give us time to hang ourselves. Every swing is a 'thought shot'. So instead of the best athlete, you end up with the best thinker as the winner. — Joe Inman

From the very start in 1969, I wanted to be a part of helping our Special Olympics athletes succeed. I wanted to be on Eunice Shirver's team as another set of eyes, another set of hands and a heart working to be there for them, finding a way to help them be the best they can be. — Rafer Johnson

The secret to success is doing the best that you can do. Forget about whether you might win or lose. By working hard and practicing the skills that you need to perform, the results will take care of themselves. Being successful is about doing your best. — Barbara Cochran

As an athlete, you only have so much time. The window only has so much time and then it closes. You have to take care of yourself the best you can. — Barry Bonds

When first starting to work with someone you try to get them in the same mindset that you were in when you were successful, and I realized the best thing you can ever do is realize that they are not you. They have a different persona and mindset, and you have to figure out what works best within your communication with that athlete. — Dan O'Brien

I had to add Oguchi into the list. After all, he's a soccer player - fittest athletes ever. At 6'4 210 pounds, he's one of the most feared men in the world's game.
I've played against a lot of massive defenders. And no one has Oguchi's strength. His shoulders and chest are so big that people confuse him with an NFL player. He can move anyone in the game with one arm, including the best strikers in the world. Guys absolutely fear him. — Charlie Davies

I was always blessed growing up with opportunities and access to facilities, equipment, and playing with my brothers in the backyard to be the best athlete I could be. — Rob Gronkowski

A lot of people probably think I'm not athletic or don't even try to work out or whatever, but I do. Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack. I work out to make sure I can do my job to the best of my ability. Other than that, I'm not going up there trying to be a fitness model. — Prince Fielder

Being in school is the best place to be if you are an athlete because you can structure your own time. — Frank Shorter

It's been a wild ride. I hope people can appreciate how special it is to see the people that ran well today; how special and sometimes fleeting greatness can be even from yourself. I gave it everything I had and for a short period of time I did very very well and I'm very proud of that and I'm leaving it at that. I did the best I could. — Alan Webb

I would say that one of the really special gifts about playing an athlete is that it's the best motivation you'll ever have to get in top shape and stay in top shape because you know that you're going to be expected to deliver. — Holt McCallany

I've defined myself, privately and publicly, by my brief, intense years as an athlete, a swimmer. I practices five or six hours a day, six days a week, eating and sleeping as much as possible. Weekends were either spent training or competing. I wasn't the best; I was relatively fast... — Leanne Shapton

I'm sick of the media making female sports athletes into supermodels, when they're clearly sixes at best. — Daniel Tosh

You know what's sad about this? Not the gambling, but the best way to reach college athletes is the Cartoon Network. — Jay Leno

It takes patience to become the best runner you can be. Top athletes realize that running is a long-term sport. It is set up for people who value delayed gratification and who like hard-earned success. — Anthony Famiglietti

Mediocre athletes that tried like hell to get good are the best coaches. — Mark Rippetoe

You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you're in on the day of the race. I've always felt these really big races aren't necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They're won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day. — Paula Radcliffe

The quality of American life is an insult to the possibilities of human growth ... the pollution of American space, with gadgetry and cars and TV and box architecture, brutalizes the senses, making gray neurotics of most of us, and perverse spiritual athletes and strident self-transcenders of the best of us. — Susan Sontag

You are worth so much more than points on a scoreboard or wins vs. losses. The best athletes I know are also some of the best people I've ever met. — Jimmy Moody

Teenage girls, please don't worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life. What I've noticed is that almost no one who was a big star in high school is also big star later in life. For us overlooked kids, it's so wonderfully fair. — Mindy Kaling

The reason I became such a successful athlete was my mind was saying that no matter who you put up against me, I am better, I am the best. — Michael Jordan

Peter Forsberg's skills and determination made him one of the most powerful forwards in the NHL during the best years of his career. Hearing of his retirement is sad news but one day every athlete has to come to this decision. He should be very proud of all he accomplished throughout his career. — Patrick Roy

Talent is never enough. With few exceptions the best players are the hardest workers. — Magic Johnson

Looking at the championship-winning quarterbacks, Edwards remembered their particular talents: Steve Young: Here's a guy that is really a talent. He's the best athlete we ever had. He could run, he developed into a good thrower. He's smart. He's intense. He could make it in the movies. Really, he's got it all. He was coachable, but he had his own ideas. He never let up, not even in practice. I'd take Steve Young every year. — LaVell Edwards

If you're looking to be a professional athlete on the top tier of any sport, my best advice is to put everything you have into it. If you're not, somebody else is. It's got to be all or nothing. — Dominick Cruz

Looking good is important. We're our own premium brand as professional athletes, so you want to be thoughtful about presentation and represent yourself and your city and sport as best you can. — C. J. Wilson

This year I spent two months in Australia, and I did all the training camps in London. It was a really hard winter because I want to give the best performance of my career at the Olympic Games! That is the only title I'm missing and I will do my best to take it! — Peter Kauzer

I feel like at the Olympics I gave the best performance of my life and I wasn't rewarded for that as an athlete. Yes, my fans and my mom were happy about it, but I didn't win that gold medal. — Johnny Weir

You owe it to yourself to be the best you can possibly be - in baseball and in life. — Pete Rose

The beauty of running is its simplicity; the beauty of runners is that we all have a similar drive to improve. We are either trying to run a personal best, or toeing the line for the first time, which will snowball into a future of trying to run personal bests. We road racers are a tight community of mileage-happy, limit-pushing athletes. — Deena Kastor

The best thing about sports is the sense of community and shared emotion it can create. — Bob Costas

Guess what, the cheerleaders in college are the best athletes in college. You think, I'm joking, they're almost all gymnasts, the stuff they do on hard wood, it blows my mind. — Joe Biden