I'm the same kind of guy before all this happened.

Before, it came easy for me. I don't have two speeds anymore. I need to focus on the small things that I once took for granted.

One thing with me, and every goal I've had - in the sport of swimming, my mother didn't know my goals. The only person that knew my goals were my coaches.

I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.

I feel most at home in the water. I disappear. That's where I belong.

Being able to do something that's never been done before, that's what I've always wanted to do. . . . There was nothing that was going to stand in my way of being the first.

I think with practice, you can being whatever you want to be, and with a goal you can go in any direction that you want to go in.