Once I'm already in my room, I still have to open a door to get into my bed. It's like a giant box. It's like the boy in a bubble.

- Michael Phelps

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

- Michael Phelps

Yeah, my friends call me Mike, Michael or just my last name.

- Michael Phelps

I live a pretty conservative life, so I probably really haven't done anything crazy.

- Michael Phelps

Once I retire, I'm retiring. I'm done.

- Michael Phelps

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

- Michael Phelps

I'm so sick of the water.

- Michael Phelps

I used to always go to church on holidays, but I don't go much any more.

- Michael Phelps

Why is it such a big deal what I'm swimming?

- Michael Phelps

There were times I wouldn't come to practice, because it didn't excite me. It wasn't interesting. I was kind of going through the motions.

- Michael Phelps

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.

- Michael Phelps

I try to separate my personal life from swimming.

- Michael Phelps

I learned how fast you can go from being an international hero to being a reference in a joke on a late night talk show.

- Michael Phelps

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.

- Michael Phelps

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

- Michael Phelps

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

- Michael Phelps

I can't remember the last day I didn't train.

- Michael Phelps

I know it won't be eight medals again. If you want to compare me to that, that's your decision, not mine. I'm going out there to try to accomplish the things that I have in my mind and in my heart.

- Michael Phelps

People say to me, 'You're so lucky. You get to see the world.' But I don't. I go to the hotel and to the pools and back again. That's it.

- Michael Phelps

My mom put me and my sisters in the water to feel comfortable, to have water safety.

- Michael Phelps