When we got in the race, we knew what we had to do and knew what we wanted to do. Having three of four guys from the American record 800 free relay is a pretty solid relay, so we thought we could take a crack at the U.S. Open record tonight. We're all a little tired, but that's fifth-fastest American relay ever, so it's not a bad time. We ended tonight on a great note.
Michael PhelpsI wanted to do something nobody ever did. This goes hand in hand with my goal of changing swimming.
Michael PhelpsI'm pretty lazy. My wife always says, "you're the laziest, most successful Olympian I've ever seen." How does that make sense? Honestly, if I have downtime, I'm really, really good at not doing anything.
Michael PhelpsThere is a one woman in China that claimed she paid $50 to get my e-mail address. It was pretty shocking. I got one this morning from Scotland. A girl's requesting a signed photo of me.
Michael PhelpsThere's such a high stigma around talking about your feelings or insecurities because, especially for men, we don't want to show that "weakness." But I'm always like, "OK, what would you rather do: Show weakness and get better, or continue to get worse and who knows where that leads?" There's something behind the suicide rate continuing to climb year after year. Why don't we ask for help?
Michael PhelpsAnd, you know, being able to wear the stars and stripes, when you step up on one of the blocks or, you know, when you step off of an airplane or when you hear the national anthem play, you know, it's one of the greatest feelings in the world because you know that there are people at home who are supporting you and watching you.
Michael Phelps