Athlete famous quotes
Last updated: Sep 5, 2024
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I'm the world's expert on sterotypes held by academics about athletes and held by athletes about academics. To me, both of them are caricatures.
-- A. Bartlett Giamatti -
Remember that sports are meant to be fun. Don't let someone make the sport unfun for you.
-- A. J. Kitt -
Writers are opposite of athletes, they get better with age
-- Aaron Sorkin -
It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.
-- Abraham Lincoln -
I wish I was a better athlete. That would have been a little cooler, being a great boxer and walking into a room and going: "I can knock everybody out!" That's a good feeling.
-- Adam Sandler -
Also, I'd like to play an athlete again, while I'm still physically fit, or a musician, like Nat King Cole, because I play the trumpet and sing. I'd like to incorporate that into a character.
-- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje -
The prayer offered to God in the morning during your quiet time is the key that unlocks the door of the day. Any athlete knows that it is the start that ensures a good finish.
-- Adrian Rogers -
My thing about looking good is that it should be the character. If I'm playing a character who's concerned about his body - an athlete, say - I'll get in shape. If I'm playing a character who doesn't or wouldn't, I don't. I almost never get in shape for a movie, even though I know it would be a good career move.
-- Aidan Quinn -
The power of the human will to compete and the drive to excel beyond the body's normal capabilities is most beautifully demonstrated in the arena of sport.
-- Aimee Mullins -
A helluva athlete, the best ever to play his position in the history of the game.
-- Al Davis -
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 -
The actor becomes an emotional athlete. The process is painful - my personal life suffers.
-- Al Pacino -
Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.
-- Alan Armstrong -
I like using one QB. If we have two that are relatively equal, then we can't afford to have one on the bench. They need to be on the field at running back, receiver or defensive back. I'm not going to waste an athlete on the sidelines.
-- Alan Chadwick -
Every day the word 'gift' is used to define talent, ability, and performance. Being gifted has an even deeper meaning, a meaning that isn't always measured in points per game or win/loss records - it's measured by heart, effort, and desire.
-- Alan Cohen -
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 think there is no better way to invite a human being to view their body differently than by inviting them to be an athlete, by revering one's body as an instrument rather than just an ornament.
-- Alanis Morissette -
An athlete must have a sound and trained body, and only after, indulge in sport he prefers.
-- Albert Azaryan -
I am always fighting inside the Council to get the message across that at each competition venue, we should send somebody to inspect and to make sure the athletes will be looked after in a correct manner.
-- Alberto Juantorena -
If we carry on filling up the calendar, we keep on pushing the athlete, we shorten the athletes longevity. The risk is to shorten a career that could have lasted 10 years because the athlete is burnt out.
-- Alberto Juantorena -
The most important part of this is to prepare the athlete for life in general and then be able to compete.
-- Alberto Juantorena -
I've found that my athletes run their best races after about 10 weeks of intense training.
-- Alberto Salazar -
I think in running, to be honest, that even though athletes are very dedicated and are willing to train and do whatever they need to do to prepare, more often than not they're not in a very professional environment where you've got a high performance director and a coach that are really monitoring your daily activities.
-- Alberto Salazar -
I can't tell you why a particular athlete would leave a certain coach, but I can tell you there could be many reasons. They could have personality conflicts. They could have misunderstandings. Lots of stuff can happen.
-- Alberto Salazar -
An athlete who tells you the training is always easy and always fun simply hasn't been there. Goals can be elusive which makes the difficult journey all the more rewarding.
-- Alberto Salazar -
I was introverted, shy. But if you win a lot you need to be extroverted, or they'll think you're arrogant.
-- Alberto Tomba -
I will always take on a new challenge. I believe in jumping off the ship every now and then. If you don't, you won't really learn how to swim
-- Alec Broers, Baron Broers -
Always work hard, never give up, and fight until the end because it's never really over until the whistle blows.
-- Alex Morgan -
I am the person you'll see everyday training when everyone else has gone home. I live for the one moment of glory when I save that goal or sink that 3-point shot and score the winning basket. I am the sport, I am the glory, nothing can change that. I am an athlete, no one can forget that.
-- Alexa Wilkinson -
I'm never satisfied, I always want to do better. That's how it is to be an elite athlete, you're never happy. When you start getting happy and you start feeling satisfied, you're done.
-- Alexander Gustafsson -
True disputants are like true sportsmen: their whole delight is in the pursuit.
-- Alexander Pope -
The less serious running of any description which an athlete indulges in before eighteen, the better for his future prospects.
-- Alfred Shrubb -
I'm a working mom, not a professional athlete, but I am a runner and that's a special club.
-- Alison Sweeney -
It's about stepping up on the big stage. The athlete who can do that is goig to do well.
-- Allen Johnson -
I am a big believer in visualization. I run through my races mentally so that I feel even more prepared.
-- Allyson Felix -
I just stay focused, and I always think about gymnastics. I am just doing what I always do... working really hard and pushing myself to the maximum and keeping myself motivated.
-- Aly Raisman -
There is a unique energy surrounding the Boston Marathon that you can't help but feel. It includes every runner and every person along the course. It brings every person there together as one.
-- Amy Hastings -
I'm not a yeller. My theory is that no one goes out there trying to screw up.
-- Amy Ruley -
I think that people ran out of oxygen and don't really know what happened up there, maybe some of them just made things up because they weren't sure what had happened.
-- Anatoli Boukreev -
What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.
-- Andre Agassi -
No athletes talk to themselves like tennis players. Pitchers, golfers, goalkeepers, they mutter to themselves, but tennis players talk to themselves-and answer. Tennis players look like lunatics in a public square.
-- Andre Agassi -
I feel sorry sometimes for these sportsmen and women who put in just as much effort as the footballers. For example, athletes train at least as hard as footballers but have to be happy if they can earn enough to finance a decent education.
-- Angela Merkel -
I'm in the perfect position. It's a sports position and a political position where I can help better the lives of athletes around the world.
-- Angela Ruggiero -
I'm able to give a voice to the athletes around the world - use my degree for something other than the power play.
-- Angela Ruggiero -
Someone who wants to write should make an effort to write a little something every day. Writing in this sense is the same as athletes who practice a sport every day to keep their skills honed.
-- Anita Desai -
The biggest concern with female athletes is they don't naturally compete. And so I think a part of what we do here exceptionally well that separates us from other programs is we train them to compete. So a huge challenge in women's athletics is to get them to compete against their teammates and friends in practice with the same intensity they compete with their bitter rivals. So that's a huge challenge for me, to get the women in practice to go after each other the way you would a rival
-- Anson Dorrance -
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 -
Look at self-satisfied pop singers or greasy, semi-literate athletes. People worship them. Why?†"Because they’re talented.
-- Anthony Horowitz -
I've been an athlete most of my life and on a disciplined schedule. Working out for me is just part of my every day.
-- Apolo Ohno -
Every Olympic athlete prepares differently. For me, I am 100 percent into the sport. And if I decide to really make a crucial career decision to say, 'This is something I want to do,' I want to leave no stone unturned in my preparation.
-- Apolo Ohno -
I want to break into the acting industry. It's something I have a great deal of respect for; it's a passion of mine. It's so amazing, the differences between acting and being an athlete, but the one commonality is they both evoke emotion in the viewer. And those emotions are real. So I think that's pretty cool.
-- Apolo Ohno -
I know that BMW is now a sponsor of the USOC - of the United States Olympic Committee - so they offer the use of their aerodynamic speed-tunnel for testing and such for the athletes, which is a great advantage. But to be honest with you, I'd rather have a free car!
-- Apolo Ohno -
Olympic athletes have to find a job right after they're done competing.
-- Apolo Ohno -
I always said if I ever get married, I would tell my woman - I love Michael Jordan, I am a Michael Jordan fanatic - I said, 'Michael Jordan is the only athlete you can sleep with and I wouldn't get mad, as long as you got something signed. You gotta bring back a ball, a hat or something. You can't just give away that sh*t for free.'
-- Aries Spears -
He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.
-- Aristotle -
I used to be an athlete and even ran the 400 metre stretch for Tamil Nadu. I have always been active.
-- Arjun Rampal -
Americans' addiction to sports, with the NFL at the top, is based on the excitement generated by the potential for the unexpected great play which can only happen with honest competition from great athletes.
-- Arlen Specter -
That is what great athletes can do: they give us a model of striving for human perfection.
-- Armstrong Williams -
I worry when athletes are simply used by their universities to produce revenue, to make money for them, nothing to show at the back end. I grew up with a lot of players who had very, very tough lives after the ball started bouncing for them. And that's why I'm going to continue to fight.
-- Arne Duncan -
What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive.
-- Arnold Palmer -
As a kid I always idolized the winning athletes. It is one thing to idolize heroes. It is quite another to visualize yourself in their place. When I saw great people, I said to myself: I can be there.
-- Arnold Schwarzenegger -
The unique thing about bodybuilding is that when I compete it is just me on a stage alone. There is no field, no bat, no ball, no skis, no skates. All other athletes have to use equipment, like a football. But I don't use anything in competition except myself. It's just me up there. Me alone. No coach. No nothing.
-- Arnold Schwarzenegger -
Experiencing this pain in my muscles and aching and going on and on is my challenge. The last three or four reps is what makes the muscles grow. This area of pain divides a champion from someone who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens. I have no fear of fainting. I do squats until I fall over and pass out. So what? It's not going to kill me. I wake up five minutes later and I'm OK. A lot of other athletes are afraid of this. So they don't pass out. They don't go on.
-- Arnold Schwarzenegger -
Seven out of 10 black faces you see on television are athletes. The black athlete carries the image of the black community. He carries the cross, in a way, until blacks make inroads in other dimensions.
-- Arthur Ashe -
A couple of times a day I sit quietly and visualize my body fighting the AIDS virus. It's the same as me sitting and seeing myself hit the perfect serve. I did that often when I was an athlete.
-- Arthur Ashe -
It is better to be defeated on principle than to win on lies.
-- Arthur Calwell -
Athletes need to enjoy their training. They don't enjoy going down to the track with a coach making them do repetitions until they're exhausted. From enjoyment comes the will to win.
-- Arthur Lydiard -
Well, no athlete respects a big, fat coach who's going to stand there and rest the watch on his stomach.
-- Arthur Lydiard -
I get more gratification out of getting some obese person who had a heart attack running around and enjoying life within a year. I get more gratification from that than putting a person in the Olympic Games. The Olympic athlete probably doesn't appreciate what you've done, but the other guy does. I think it's really rewarding.
-- Arthur Lydiard -
No one will burn out doing aerobic running. It is too much anaerobic running, which the American scholastic athletic system tends to put young athletes through, that burns them out.
-- Arthur Lydiard -
Athletes try to get other athletes out and they should have no false starts.
-- Asafa Powell -
The Olympic Games belong to the athletes and not to the politicians.
-- Avery Brundage -
The ancient Greeks kept women athletes out of their games. They wouldn't even let them on the sidelines. I'm not sure but that they were right.
-- Avery Brundage -
It's not just enough to swing at the ball. You've got to loosen your girdle and really let the ball have it.
-- Babe Didrikson Zaharias -
Luck? Sure. But only after long practice and only with the ability to think under pressure.
-- Babe Didrikson Zaharias -
They say golf came easy to me because I was a good athlete, but there's not any girl on the LPGA Tour who worked near as hard as I did in golf. It's the toughest game I ever tackled.
-- Babe Didrikson Zaharias -
Before I was ever in my teens, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. My goal was to be the greatest athlete that ever lived.
-- Babe Didrikson Zaharias -
The most important thing that a young athlete must do it pick the right sport. Not one that they like just a little bit, but one that they love. Because,if they don't really love their sport, they won't work as hard as they should. Me? I loved to hit.
-- Babe Ruth -
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 -
I don't want to get too detailed into it, but when you're a good high school running back, you can almost be whatever type of runner you want to be. If you're a good size and a good athlete, you can be whatever type of runner you want.
-- Barry Sanders -
I can relate to anyone. I can hang out with stoners, skaters, surfers, stockbrokers, lawyers, athletes, rappers. I feel I can hang out with any group of people and find common ground to talk with them.
-- Barry Zito -
The nearest approach I have ever seen to the symmetry of ancient sculpture was among the Arab tribes of Ethiopia. Our Saxon race can supply the athlete, but not the Apollo.
-- Bayard Taylor -
It's not the will to win that matters-everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters.
-- Bear Bryant -
I still love to find and develop the young athletes in traditional ways. I like to watch the physical and mental growth. That has always been very exciting.
-- Bela Karolyi -
You have to have competent people evaluating the athlete, not the housewives!
-- Bela Karolyi -
I have great admiration for athletes. They are just like actors in a lot of ways. They have tremendous pressures and conflicts. They have to compete, and they can't stay home just because they have a head cold.
-- Ben Cross -
If we could have just screwed another head on his shoulders, he would have been the greatest golfer who ever lived.
-- Ben Hogan -
Relax? How can anybody relax and play golf? You have to grip the club, don't you?
-- Ben Hogan -
The concussion crisis has changed the face of sports as we know it and it has brought to surface the incredible importance of our brain health. The time is now for us to make our brain the number one priority so that education and awareness can take effect, and begin to change the way we approach the health of our athletes from youth to professionals.
-- Ben Utecht -
Across the board you can run up against 10 athletes where we're the same physically. They've done the same kind of training; they are in the same kind of shape. But the one that wins is the person who really believes they can win.
-- Benita Johnson -
I'm calm and focused and I can't wait for the biggest sport event in the World to begin.
-- Benjamin Boukpeti -
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