It's an interesting relationship, |
It's been a huge inspiration for us and we've been walking tall around the athletes' village over the last couple of days. |
It's been a tough month with the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. I had a bad meet so this win felt very good after that. |
It's tougher than people think. The perception is often that it's a vacation, but the studies are hard, and you still have to swim, ... It's not for everyone, but it was right for me and Roland. We wouldn't have won the relay if we hadn't gone overseas. I don't think coaches here would have believed we could do it, but the US can-do spirit helped us. |
Roland's probably been in Heat more than me, ... I can't believe that people actually want to know what bed linen I buy, or what food eat. |
That's how he swims. He comes from behind. I knew I had to go out with Roland, but I couldn't catch him at the end. |
The only thing I regret is not returning earlier. |
The win had a huge impact on us. The next morning we were all walking tall. My little sister is on the team and a little unsure of herself here, as are some of the younger swimmers. I told her that she should look at what the cricket team did. Anything is possible, you don't know what you can do or what can happen. |
There's nothing special about Phelps as a person, he's just like any other guy, ... He's been a celebrity since he was 16, been pampered, and he tends to think quite highly of himself. |
Thorpe will be back, which is good. Swimming is huge in Australia, and me and Roland versus Thorpe is already being built up, |
We are all friends and we have the similar feelings we had in Athens, so a world record is definitely our target and we are capable of achieving it. The relay on the opening night will be a good start for us. |
We needed Athens. People see us and say well done on Athens, well done on Montreal. We shocked the world, shocked everyone. |
What happened when we won that relay in Athens was the beginning of something great. It scared a few people. |
What happened when we won that relay in Athens was the beginning of something great. We were a surprise package. No one expected us to win or to break the world record. I think it changed a few things in South African swimming. |
What makes it important is the kind of rivalry we've been talking about with Australia, with England, with New Zealand, with Canada. |