130 Athlete Quotes to Inspire Remarkable Performances
What is your favorite sport? Who is the athlete you admire the most? We all know how entertaining and exciting sports are. They are an important part of human culture since ancient times and are not only emotionally engaging but they also represent one of the finest examples of human spirit. These athlete quotes by famous sportsmen around the world showcase the entire mankind’s passion about sports.
Pushing oneself to the very limit generates intense emotional responses and memorable moments full of emotion and drama that captivate our senses and take your breath away. We admire the athletes’ character and discipline, the dedication and determination to make the impossible possible! We idolize them for their performance and achievements, and have an innate tendency to identify with them because they embody the finest human ideals. It is a mirroring behavior, making us feel engaged, participating in the excitement and the drama as if we are competing, modeling in essence our own efforts and endeavors in the arena of life.
Athletes are ideal role models and the finest paradigm of determination, resilience and self-mastery, teaching us that no matter what life throws at us, we have to push on, persisting and believing, because through the hard times and challenges we will achieve greatness and triumph!
Whether you are a professional or an aspiring athlete, or are just looking for a dose of guidance and encouragement, here we have curated for you the most inspirational quotes from the world’s most remarkable athletes and coaches. Share them with friends and loved ones in order to motivate them. Use them as vibey captions to add dynamism to your Instagram posts! Bookmark them as your daily life mantras! Ruminate on them to reframe your thoughts and relentlessly chase your dreams for a meaningful and blissful life!
Table of Contents
- Short Athlete Quotes To Inspire Greatness
- Motivational Quotes by Athletes to Keep You Engaged
- Inspirational Sportsmen Quotes to Boost Inner Strength and Determination
- Famous Athlete Quotes Το Inspire a Competitive Mindset
- Elite Athlete Quotes That Explain How They Did It
Short Athlete Quotes To Inspire Greatness
A selection of uplifting quotes that will give you an extra boost and transform your perspective to help you overcome any situation. Just believe it and you can achieve it!
- Overpower. Overtake. Overcome. Serena Williams
- You make your own luck. You make it in training. Simone Biles
- You should never stay at the same level. Always push yourself to the next. Marnelli Dimzon
- Every day of my life, I’m trying to find a way to get better. Ray Lewis
- The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose. Ernie Banks
- A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever. Mary Lou Retton
- Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. Michael Jordan
- Winners never quit and quitters never win. Vince Lombardi
- Make each day your masterpiece. John Wooden
- The man who has no imagination has no wings. Muhammad Ali
- One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it. Knute Rockne
- I just knew if it could be done, it had to be done, and I did it. Gertrude Ederle
- If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life. Michael Jordan
- The ability to conquer one’s self is no doubt the most precious of all things that sports bestows. Olga Korbut
- Passion first and everything will fall into place. Holly Holm
- Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. Vince Lombardi
- Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears. Laird Hamilton
- I believe in the impossible because no one else does. Florence Griffith Joyner
- It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. Babe Ruth
- Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. Vince Lombardi
- Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement. Matt Biondi
- It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters. Evander Holyfield
- Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it. Ted Williams
- If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win. Carl Lewis
- f you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough. Mario Andretti
- If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail. Mark Spitz
- Good is not good when better is expected. Vin Scully
- Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there. Bo Jackson
- It’s going to be a journey. It’s not a sprint to get in shape. Kerri Walsh Jennings
- There are always new, grander challenges to confront, and a true winner will embrace each one. Mia Hamm
- Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Neale Donald Walsh
- A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning. Billie Jean King
- Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength. Phil Jackson
- Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period. Lou Holtz
- Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. William James
- Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. William A. Ward
- You control your own wins and losses. Maria Sharapova
Motivational Quotes by Athletes to Keep You Engaged
Courage, determination, commitment, talent and guts is what it takes to stay ahead in the game. Scroll through the following quotes and get fired up!
- The only one who can tell you ‘you can’t win’ is you and you don’t have to listen. Jessica Ennis-Hill
- Today, you have 100% of your life left. Tom Landry
- If you think you’re done, you always have at least 40 percent more. Lauren Crandall
- You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get. Michael Phelps
- No matter the circumstances that you may be going through, just push through it. Ray Lewis
- Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. Michael Jordan
- I hated every minute of training, but I said, don’t quit, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. Muhammad Ali
- You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. Wayne Gretzky
- They say discipline and dedication and respect are the key factors, but patience is a virtue that is absolutely essential! Ria Ramnarine
- You must not only have competitiveness but ability, regardless of the circumstance you face, to never quit. Abby Wambach,
- It’s better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. Bill Nicholson
- Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden
- You’re never a loser until you quit trying. Mike Ditka
- Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you. Arnold Palmer
- If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat. Herschel Walker
- Winning isn’t everything, but it beats anything that comes in second. Paul Bryant
- If you can’t outplay them, outwork them. Ben Hogan
- Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential. Liane Cardes
- You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation. Homer Rice
- I’ve failed over & over & over again in my life & that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan
- As athletes we have ups and downs. Unfortunately, you can’t pick the days they come on. Leena Kastor
- I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end. Larry Bird
- Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it. Steve Prefontaine
- A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning. Pat Riley
- If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
- Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better. Pat Riley
- Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy. Wayne Gretzky
- Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence. George F. Will
- Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. Jim Valvano
- The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent. Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Your biggest opponent isn’t the other guy. It’s human nature. Bobby Knight
Inspirational Sportsmen Quotes to Boost Inner Strength and Determination
Succinct words of wisdom that have the power to unlock your potential, providing you that extra push to give it your all!
- It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up. Vince Lombardi
- The five S’s of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit. Ken Doherty
- I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all. Simone Biles,
- Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible. Frank L. Gaines
- Greatness is a lot of small things done well. Ray Lewis
- You have to do something in your life that is honorable and not cowardly if you are to live in peace with yourself. Larry Brown
- Many times, I had to dig deep and perform. All of that adversity helped me and drove me to want to be the best. Hayley Wickenheiser
- The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it. Wayne Gretzky
- The past doesn’t matter. Take today. Becky Sauerbrunn
- The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination. Tommy Lasorda
- The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do. Kobe Bryant
- Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play. Mike Singletary
- Victory is in having done your best. If you’ve done your best, you’ve won. Billy Bowerman
- It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself. Muhammad Ali
- Don’t think about the start of the race, think about the ending. Usain Bolt
- If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful! Charles Barkley
- Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. Satchel Paige
- It ain’t about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa
- The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning. Pele
- When you fall, get right back up. Just keep going, keep pushing it. Lindsey Vonn
- Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Babe Ruth
- There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either IN or you’re OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between. Pat Riley
- Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t. Jerry Rice
- Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time. Lou Brock
- I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better. Yogi Berra
- The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before. Steve Young
- When you win, say nothing, when you lose, say less. Paul Brown
- If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it. Ronnie Lott
Famous Athlete Quotes Το Inspire a Competitive Mindset
It is all in the mind, you only lose if you believe you lost. The following quotes have been selected to help you dig deep into your mental reservoirs and embrace a competitive mindset that will ignite your dreams!
- Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body. Lynn Jennings
- To win without risk is to triumph without glory. Pierre Cornielle
- Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice. Bethany Hamilton
- You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good. Jerry West
- I never left the field saying I could have done more to get ready and that gives me peace of mind. Peyton Manning
- It’s easy to forget when you’re an elite athlete that everyone else gets nervous as well. Even the best people in the world, at whatever they do, they’re still nervous. Leisel Jones
- There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do. Derek Jeter
- Somebody gives you an opportunity, say yes to it. So what if you fail? you won’t know if you fail or succeed unless you try. Ann Meyers
- You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours. Herb Brooks
- It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters. Paul “Bear” Bryant
- There’s no substitute for hard work. If you work hard and prepare yourself, you might get beat, but you’ll never lose. Nancy Lieberman
- Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. Lance Armstrong
- I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot. Kobe Bryant
- Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. John Wooden
- What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose. Andre Agassi
- Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever. Billie Jean King
- Most talented players don’t always succeed. Some don’t even make the team. It’s more what’s inside. Brett Favre
- What keeps me going is not winning, but the quest for reaching potential in myself as a coach and my kids as divers. It’s the pursuit of excellence. Ron O’Brien
- The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are still getting beat no matter what you do. When you have the killer instinct to fight through that, it is very special. Eddie Reese
- Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds. Larry Bird
Elite Athlete Quotes That Explain How They Did It
We all admire and look up to elite athletes as sources of inspiration. Their story and encouraging words nurture our mind with positive thoughts, propelling us to make some history of our own!
- Champions keep playing until they get it right. Billie Jean King
- Set realistic goals, keep re-evaluating, and be consistent. Venus Williams
- An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head. Emil Zatopek
- If I didn’t swim my best, I’d think about it at school, at dinner, with my friends. It would drive me crazy. Michael Phelps
- You’ve got to be confident when you’re competing. You’ve got to be a beast. Gabby Douglas
- You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. Michael Jordan
- There is always going to be a reason why you can’t do something; your job is to constantly look for the reasons why you can achieve your dreams. Shannon Miller
- Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts. Dan Gable
- You’ve got to take the initiative and play your game. In a decisive set, confidence is the difference. Chris Evert
- You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits. Michael Phelps
- Once you give them the power to tell you you’re great, you’ve also given them the power to tell you you’re unworthy. Once you start caring about people’s opinions of you, you give up control. Ronda Rousey
- Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle. Wilma Rudolph
- You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy. Arthur Ashe
- Endure, put up with whatever comes your way, learn to overcome weakness and pain, push yourself to breaking point but never cave in. If you don’t learn that lesson, you’ll never succeed as an elite athlete. Toni Nadal
- The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important. Bobby Knight
- Erase the word “failure” from your vocabulary. No case is ever truly closed, and no challenge is ever over. Mary Lou Retton
- I’m never satisfied, I always want to do better. That’s how it is to be an elite athlete, you’re never happy. When you start getting happy and you start feeling satisfied, you’re done. Alexander Gustafsson
Athletes are symbols of humanity’s ideals. They push themselves to their physical and mental limits, adapting to challenges and overcoming hurdles in their noble effort to reach their goals. Their relentless determination and passion in chasing their dreams is what fuels them to play their heart out every single day and this is the most important life lesson they impart to us all!
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