I always tell people, I'm a better swimmer because I'm a mom and a better mom because I'm swimmer.

When people say to me, 'You're like the Anna Kournikova who wins,' I definitely take it as a compliment, because she's quite gorgeous.

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 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.

Like anyone, I stress and get hard on myself from time to time, but it's minute compared to the pressure I used to put on myself to perform and succeed. To my kids' credit, they've probably helped me the most here: I'm more worried about what they're doing than what I'm doing!

Id go to swim practice, put my face in the water, and I didnt have to talk to anybody. Swimming was like my escape, but it was also like this huge prison because I felt like I had to swim up to peoples standards.

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.