Mark Spitz

"By making a comeback, I'm changing the attitude of people toward me. If I'd known that people would react so enthusiastically, I'd have done it years ago."

"The pool is terrible, but that doesn't have much to do with my record swims. That's all mental attitude."

"I just tried to keep my cool and continue with my race plan: to win."

"I am not qualified to talk about the diet. Simply because I am not a dietician."

"In my day, at 12 years old, which was 38 years ago, we worked out in summer months for two and a half hours. Today someone in that age group might work out for four hours, two hours in the morning and two at night."

"One of the most difficult things for people who have been successful in sports is adapting to the daily world where you can't get an answer from someone until 5 o'clock tomorrow. There is always an excuse. Living 40 or 50 years like that doesn't get too exciting after a while."