Almost religiously, I step away from everything and close my eyes and breathe deeply for a few moments. It helps solidify my focus and aligns everything in my body to take care of the task at hand - which is winning, of course.

I know that I do deserve good things.

To look good in the water you have to pick the right swimsuit. I own close to 500.

In swimming, everyone calls me grandma, because I'm the oldest there. Then with my friends, I'm the youngest and I'm the baby. It's definitely bizarre.

I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let the other swimmers think about me, not me about them.

When people say that kids change your life, it's no small feat what they do. I've stressed about competition my whole life, but the minute I held my son Blaise in my arms for the first time, those stresses diminished.

Sometimes success is simply being willing to give it your all.