Breaking composure, confidence, and speed in the water makes you lose the race, not the goggles that fell off your head when you dove in.

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.

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.

My training centered on aerobic development, meaning I'd swim longer with less intensity during the majority of my practices. As I got older, I began more weight training, and my workouts went from long at a lower intensity to shorter and more intense.

The swimming community is really conservative. I don't know why, because we're in no clothing whatsoever.

I don't underestimate the power of mental preparation throughout all of my training. I'm in a much better state of mind about competition.

My performance has improved dramatically from yoga and meditation. No athlete ever dominated by sticking to one sport all the time.