Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training, and some are not. — George A. Sheehan
Durability is part of what makes a great athlete. — Bill Russell
One of the redeeming things about being an athlete is redefining what is humanly possible. — Lance Armstrong
I'm an athlete, I'm funny, I'm creative, I can tell a story, I'm likable. — Logan Paul
To be a top-class athlete, you have to train hard, you have to eat right, you have to get enough rest. I feel the way golf is going nowadays, you have to treat yourself as an athlete. — Rory McIlroy
Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her. — Mia Hamm
A competitive athlete is painful to look at; trying hard to become an animal rather than a man, he will never be as fast as a cheetah or as strong as an ox. — Nassim Nicholas Taleb
As athletes, we think we're heroes, but when you witness firsthand what I saw yesterday, you realize who the real heroes are. — Tom Brady
A good athlete always mentally replays a competition over and over, even in victory, to see what might be done to improve the performance the next time. — Frank Shorter
Meeting sports athletes that are the best in the world is a thrill to this day. — Phil Knight
A runner must run with dreams in his heart. — Emil Zatopek
I'm a working mom, not a professional athlete, but I am a runner and that's a special club. — Alison Sweeney
A helluva athlete, the best ever to play his position in the history of the game. — Al Davis
Being pretty good at everything is more important than excelling in one pursuit. Be an athlete of life. — Peter Attia
I’m a professional athlete, I’m a businesswoman and I know who I am. — Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Short Athlete Quotes
You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. — Serena Williams
The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. — Phil Jackson
God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure. — Eric Liddell
He who has overcome his fears will truly be free. — Aristotle
I want to be remembered as a great athlete. As a boxing champion. — Idi Amin
There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out. — Pat Riley
To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. — Bill Bowerman
Talent is never enough. With few exceptions the best players are the hardest workers. — Magic Johnson
The only athletic sport I ever mastered was backgammon. — Douglas William Jerrold
I'm not like a full athlete. But I'm definitely a boxer. — Logan Paul
Athlete Image Quotes
A failure isn't a failure if it prepares you for success tomorrow. — Lolo Jones
Have fun, because that's what life is all about. — Ryan Lochte
Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement. — Matt Biondi
Inspiring Athlete Quotes
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. — Muhammad Ali
Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. — Muhammad Ali
During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at-bats a season. That means I played 7 years without ever hitting the ball. — Mickey Mantle
It's not the will to win that matters-everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters. — Bear Bryant
The team with the best athletes doesn't usually win. It's the team with the athletes who play best together. — Lisa Fernandez
Remember the saying, What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger? It's true! — Paulo Coelho
Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. — Ross Perot
You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation. — Homer Rice
Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. — Satchel Paige
Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength. — Phil Jackson
Olympic Athlete Quotes
After I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals, it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap me on the back, want to shake my hand or have me up to their suite. But no one was going to offer me a job. — Jesse Owens
I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn't in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I'd learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself. — Jesse Owens
The potential for greatness lives within us all. — Wilma Rudolph
The U.S. Olympic spirit award is an award that is given to an athlete who embodies the Olympic spirit in more ways than just on the playing field, in showing incredible perseverance, in overcoming obstacles, and what we wanted to do is have everybody can vote on-line. — Brian Boitano
Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It's our goal in life to find it and keep it. — Mary Lou Retton
Nothing can substitute for just plain hard work — Andre Agassi
It's all about the journey, not the outcome. — Carl Lewis
If you dream and you allow yourself to dream you can do anything. — Clara Hughes
I still can't believe I'm an Olympic athlete. — Shawn Johnson
Female success stories from sporting events like the Olympic Games have played a role in shifting the Indian perception to see the female athlete as a hero and a role model for young Indian girls. — Richard Attias
Professional Athlete Quotes
I'm a firm believer in... just because these guys are professional athletes or whatever, everybody's going to have an opinion on something, and not everybody's going to get along. I've had my words with fans on Twitter too. — Dana White
You see a hockey player, you'd never know he's a professional athlete. But you put the skates on him, and he becomes a beast. — Junior Seau
Several professional athletes have wrongly taught many young Americans by example that the only way to succeed in sports is to take steroids. — Jim Sensenbrenner
I would advise all youths aspiring to athletic fame or a professional career to practice clean living, fair play and good sportsmanship. — Major Taylor
I don't believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models. — Charles Barkley
The United States has become a place where entertainers and professional athletes are mistaken for people of importance. — Robert A. Heinlein
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
I think sports for kids is the greatest thing in the world because it teaches you how to share, about winning and losing and pressure. But I don't think you should force your kid to become a professional athlete. — Wayne Gretzky
A good professional athlete must have the love of a little boy. And the good players feel the kind of love for the game that they did when they were Little Leaguers. — Tom Seaver
The left's obsession with the high incomes of corporate executives never seems to extend to equally high - or higher - incomes of professional athletes, entertainers, or best-selling authors like Danielle Steel. — Thomas Sowell
Female Athlete Quotes
I guess from my perspective being a female athlete as well, there’s probably not a huge amount of female athlete books out there. — Ellyse Perry
The female body is a masterpiece. Everyone likes to look at the female body, especially in dynamic, athletic sport. — Natalie Cook
I had female role models to look up to starting in middle school, athletes like Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm who made me realize that there was room in the world of sports for women. They ignited my dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. — Jennie Finch
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Hunger feeds the need to succeed. — Steve Kaufman
If 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,' how do you explain zombies? — Bob Saget
I'm sick of the media making female sports athletes into supermodels, when they're clearly sixes at best. — Daniel Tosh
Training of female athletes is so new that the limits of female possibility are still unknown. — Katherine Dunn
I'm not just a model who plays volleyball, or a volleyball player who supports herself modeling. I'm a female athlete personality. — Gabrielle Reece
Pro Athlete Quotes
I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field. — Walter Payton
People complain that pro athletes make a lot of money; but what they don't understand is that we need a lot of money because we spend a lot of money. — Patrick Ewing
Stop saying athletes do it for the love of the game. They do it for the love of their 32-room mansion with the live shark tank in the living room. If pro sports paid minimum wage, Shaquille O'Neal would be a bouncer at Scores, and Anna Kournikova would be a mail-order bride from Minsk. — Bill Maher
He hasn't shown me anything but how he carries himself as a professional man, husband, father and athlete. Tom Brady is a pro's pro. I love the man and everything he's accomplished. — Randy Moss
"I've always been a proponent of "if you're going to do something, do it right." I applied that across all aspects of my shooting - planning, setting up shoots, getting up early, working with athletes and models, working with clients etc. Just being a pro about it. — Jimmy Chin
Do I midnight snack? Not a lot, but sometimes. And it's usually Doritos Cooler Ranch. I know that's terrible, especially for a pro athlete, but they're just so good. — Clint Mathis
The pro athlete is a sad tale. He signs a big contract and thinks he's set for life. I didn't think I was set for life, and I don't now. As athletes, we are important, celebrities, in demand and rich. Then we are out of the game and we are not important, not celebrities, not in demand and not rich. — Fran Tarkenton
Hip-hop and being a pro athlete go hand in hand. When they come together, it's a win, not just for your business brand but also for culture. — Kendrick Lamar
In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball. — Michael Jordan
A sportswriter's life means never sitting with your wife or family at the games. Still working after everyone has gone to the party... Digging beneath a coach's lies, not to forget those of athletic directors and general managers and owners of pro teams. Keeping a confidence. Risking it. — Dan Jenkins
Student Athlete Quotes
I could have skated by as an athlete, but the world is so much bigger and more interesting than any one thing. I didn't want to be pigeonholed as just a jock. I'm also an author, a student of history, and I collect memorabilia from the Wild West. I'm also a son, a father, and a friend. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I talk to student-athletes. I try to get them to remember that they're not just athletes, but student-athletes. You need to get an education, keep your hands clean and try to represent the university. — Earl Campbell
Universities exist to transmit knowledge and understanding of ideas and values to students not to provide entertainment for spectators or employment for athletes. — Milton Friedman
In every school, more boys wanted to be remembered as a star athlete than as a brilliant student. — James S. Coleman
I find that the three major administrative problems on a campus are sex for the students, athletics for the alumni and parking for the faculty. — Clark Kerr
A jazz musician is a combination orator, dialectician, mathematician, athlete, entertainer, poet, singer, dancer, diplomat, educator, student, comedian, artist, seducer, public masturbator, and general all-round good fellow. — Steve Lacy
By taking a business-like approach, the student-athletes and their parents will be in control of the outcome and that's how it should be. — Billy Kennedy
My life has been centered around sports. It is where I have met my closest friends and shaped the values that have made me a successful athlete, student and role model for young people. — Jennie Finch
Drawing on impressive achievements in academics and athletics as well as his own personal disappointments and challenges, Jordan provides students with a unique opportunity to discover the magnitude of their own potential. — Hyrum W. Smith
While most students were trying to draw one beautiful finished piece, I would be in the background drawing dozens of studies at different angles to use later. — Fred Perry
Good Athlete Quotes
Good athletes do not know what tiredness is. They do not know what discouragement is. Good athletes only know what victory is. — Fidel Castro
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
You may have read that humans are the best endurance athletes. It's not true. We're only good in the heat, thanks to how we cool ourselves. Sled dogs are—by far—the greatest endurance athletes in the mammal kingdom. And their stats are insane. — Michael Easter
Nothing good comes in life or athletics unless a lot of hard work has preceded the effort. Only temporary success is achieved by taking short cuts. — Roger Staubach
The country is full of good coaches. What it takes to win is a bunch of interested players. — Don Coryell
Several of my critics have said, 'Bowerman just tacks up a piece of paper in the locker room and turns his runners loose.' They're partially right. I do give the athletes a relatively free rein and for good reason. One of my principles is? 'Don't overcoach.' — Bill Bowerman
Before I go out on the field every day, I tell myself, 'You are having fun, and you want to set a good example to those who are watching. — Cory Snyder
One of the great lessons I've learned in athletics is that you've got to discipline your life. No matter how good you may be, you've got to be willing to cut out of your life those things that keep you from going to the top. — Bob Richards
I love watching a good horse do what he's bred to do - I guess that's what I like the most about it. And I love to see good athletes do what they're bred to do. — Wilford Brimley
Everything good in life requires good sleep: good relationships, good mood, good athletic or academic performance, good mental health…I’d go so far as to say that good sleep is the foundation for getting anything you want in life. — Mark Burhenne
Athlete Motivational Quotes
When I'd get tired and want to stop, I'd wonder what my next opponent was doing. I'd wonder if he was still working out. I'd tried to visualize him. When I could see him working, I'd start pushing myself. When I could see him in the shower, I'd push myself harder. — Dan Gable
When you fall, get right back up. Just keep going, keep pushing it. — Lindsey Vonn
Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It's dedication and a willingness to discipline your life that makes you great. — Billie Jean King
What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it. — Dean Smith
Sports can do so much. They've given me a framework: meeting new people, confidence, self-esteem, discipline, motivation. All these things I learned, whether I knew I was learning them or not, through sports. — Mia Hamm
You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours. — Herb Brooks
I celebrate a victory when I start walking off the field. By the time I get to the locker room, I'm done. — Tom Osborne
Sports for me is when a guy walks off the court, and you really can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way. — Jim Courier
I don't celebrate because I'm only doing my job. When a postman delivers letters, does he celebrate? — Mario Balotelli
Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. — Babe Ruth
Great Athlete Quotes
To be candid with you, free agency hurts all sports. It's great for athletes making an enormous amount of money. But to say it helps the sports, I don't believe that. — Jerry West
I always set my ambitions very high. You want to be the greatest athlete, but I realized that life is not about that. I was a little bit blind. — Joanna Jedrzejczyk
The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand — Vince Lombardi
My thoughts before a big race are usually pretty simple. I tell myself: Get out of the blocks, run your race, stay relaxed. If you run your race, you'll win... channel your energy. Focus. — Carl Lewis
I don't fold under pressure, great athletes perform better under pressure, so put pressure on me. — Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
When you're riding, only the race in which you're riding is important. — Bill Shoemaker
These days the temptation to use steroids in sports has become too great for many young athletes. — Jim Sensenbrenner
I'm a huge wrestling fan. Wrestlers have so many great qualities that athletes need to have. — Bob Stoops
The more I practice, the luckier I get. — Jerry Barber
Most people do not know themselves. The real you is not that person you are when times are great, the real you shows when everything goes wrong. Can you hold on, can you keep pushing or do you quit? — Ian Warner
Athletic Performance Quotes
The glory of sport is witnessing a well-coached team perform as a single unit, striving for a common goal and ultimately bringing distinction to the jersey the players represent. — Dick Vitale
Almost all of the world-class athletes and other peak performers are visualizers. They see it; they feel it; they experience it before hey actually do it. They begin with the end in mind. — Stephen Covey
Every time you compete, try harder to improve on your last performance. Give nothing short of your very best effort. — Elgin Baylor
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
The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing. — Jackie Joyner-Kersee
When things are tough, French athletes tend to pull out great performances. — Didier Deschamps
I firmly believe that all human beings have access to extraordinary energies and powers. Judging from accounts of mystical experience, heightened creativity, or exceptional performance by athletes and artists, we harbor a greater life than we know. — Jean Houston
The East Germans first used biomechanics. This meant that rather than guessing about technique and form, they could apply changes to athletic performance based on science. — Bill Toomey
The street to obscurity is paved with athletes who perform great feats before friendly crowds. Greatness in major league sports is the ability to win in a stadium filled with people who are pulling for you to lose. — George Allen
The best way to show respect to your fellow athletes is to give the best performance you can. — Cheng Fei
Win or lose you will never regret working hard, making sacrifices, being disciplined or focusing too much. Success is measured by what we have done to prepare for competition. — John Smith
A clean, hard-fought wrestling match is the most honest of athletic contests. There is no technological interventions, no teammates to blame, no panel of judges to bias the score. In wrestling, you compete or you quit. No alibis. I like that — Dan Gable
The answers to these questions will determine your success or failure. 1) Can people trust me to do what's right? 2) Am I committed to doing my best? 3) Do I care about other people and show it? If the answers to these questions are yes, there is no way you can fail. — Lou Holtz
I have often been asked whether I am a women or an athlete. The question is absurd. Men are not asked that. I am an athlete. I am a women. — Billie Jean King
Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they're afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive. — Serena Williams
There is no gaming table in the world where loaded dice are tolerated, no athletic field where men must not start fair. Yet Mr. Rockefeller has systematically played with loaded dice, and it is doubtful if there has ever been a time since 1872 when he has run a race with a competitor and started fair. — Ida Tarbell
Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust. — Jesse Owens
The weird thing about rap is that you don't get compared in the same way that athletes do, even though it's probably the most competitive sport in music. In basketball, they look at a player and say: 'This guy was the best in his prime at this sport.' But in rap it's not until you're dead or retired that people think about it like that. — Chance the Rapper
Ballet dancing is arduous, strenuous activity. Students are engaged in physical training that rivals the training Olympic athletes undergo. At the same time, they strive for physical perfection not for the prowess alone but as a way of achieving the means necessary to express the pure nature of their art. — George Balanchine
As athletes, we're used to reacting quickly. Here, it's 'come, stop, come, stop.' There's a lot of downtime. That's the toughest part of the day. — Michael Jordan
In Conclusion
Which quotation resonated with you best? Did you enjoy our collection of athlete quotes? Or may be you have a slogan about athlete to suggest. Let us know using our contact form.
Citation
Feel free to cite and use any of the quotes in this collection of athlete quotations. For popular citation styles(APA, Chicago, MLA), please use this citation page.