If I bring back only one gold people are going to say it's a disappointment. But not too many of them own an Olympic gold medal so if I get one I'm going to be happy.

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.

I have reached a place in my life where I need to sit down and say, 'Well, what do I do? What's best for me?' I need to look into options for the future.

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.

I have the opportunity to be part of swimming history. To take the sport to a new level would be an honor for me. There's no better time to try this than now.

If we can continue to come together and work on small things little by little, at least it's something. It's a start. At least now there's a lot more talk about climate change and the Earth's state than when I was a kid. I guess it's better late than never? But it's also very tricky because this is something that's so important to so many of us, and a lot of people don't see it that way. But hopefully, we can get all our points across to them - one by one, one person at a time.

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.