Sports Quotes

“The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give.”
– Howard Cosell

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”
– Pierre de Coubertin

“To be here, is a dream come true. A dream is something that you set for yourself, not what other people set for you.”
– Natalie du Toit, Marathon Swimmer

“You can’t accomplish anything in life that’s great by yourself.”
– Ruben Gonzalez, Three-time American Olympian in Luge

“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”
– Wayne Gretzky

“Gold medals are awarded in the summer, but they’re earned in the winter. That was four years of hard winters.”
– Kyle Hamilton, part of the Canadian Men’s Eight Rowing team that won Olympic gold in 2008

“When you give people chances and allow them to come back from their mistakes, great things happen and I’m a perfect example.”
-Eric Lamaze, Canadian Equestrian who won gold and silver medals in Beijing 2008 after two suspensions for cocaine use.

“The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.”
– Vince Lombardi

“He has a passion for it. It’s not just what he does, it’s who he is.”
– Amy Millar

“If you persevere long enough, if you do the right things long enough the right things will happen.”
– Ian Millar, Canadian Equestrian who own his first Olympic medal (a silver) in 9 Olympics at the age of 61.

“I have been visualizing myself every night for the past four years standing on the podium having the gold placed around my neck.”
Megan Quann, Olympic Double Gold Medalist in Swimming for USA

”Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.“
-Pat Riley

“My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.”
– Wilma Rudolph, Olympic Triple Gold Medalist in Track & Field for USA

“You can stumble and fall, make errors and mistakes, but you are not a failure until you start blaming others, including fate, for your results.”
– John R. Wooden in “Wooden on Leadership”

“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.”
– Emil Zatopek, Czech long distance runner with 4 Olympic Golds