This is the first medal I've ever won in an international meet. For it to be gold is incredible. It feels great. I can't explain it.

Even in high school, I'd tell my mom I was sick of swimming and wanted to try to play golf. She wasn't too happy. She'd say, 'Think about this.' And I'd always end up getting back in the pool.

Every day after I wake up, I think, 'Wait... this can't be real; I'm still going to wake up.'

So many people along the way,whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can't be done. But it all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there no limits.

I learned how fast you can go from being an international hero to being a reference in a joke on a late night talk show.

Water has always been a large part of my life, so for me now, being a father with another child on the way, I'm just teaching some of the small things I've been able to learn - and passing that onto the younger generation. Small things like turning your faucet off when you brush your teeth, not taking a 30-minute shower when you really don't need to. So I want to teach the younger generation to spread the message and make a difference. I'm almost more excited to do this than I was to swim.

My little son is already like me - my mom has always said I used to bounce off the wall and never stop talking or sit still. I'm starting to see that with him. I guess it's living proof he's part of me.