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Olympic Games Coverage on Swim Stars Live
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Quotes
GENERAL QUOTES
“I consider myself to be an American, and if I am to make an Olympic team, it’s going to be the U.S. Olympic team. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
[On competing at IL high school states] “The atmosphere is crazy. Everyone is screaming, the stands are packed and it’s so loud in there. It’s an adrenaline rush, but at the same time, it’s a lot to take in.”
[On competing as his final IL high school state champs] “It was nice to break state records, but it was even better to win as a team. That was our goal, that’s what we all worked for, and it felt so good to be able to come back like that.”
“I just don’t like to lose!”
“My coach, Lea Maurer, is the best coach I’ve ever had. She’s taught me so much. She’s been to the heights of international swimming and knows what it takes to get there. She’s been able to teach me so much about the mental aspects of competition, which is really the most important thing you can learn in swimming.
“At the elite level, everyone works equally hard and is equally fit. In the end, races usually come down to who wants them more and who has the confidence to push the edge when the stakes are high.”
“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t thinking about it - it’s every swimmer’s dream to be an Olympian.”
“People step up for the big race. And the U.S. trials are as big as it gets. You could be beating certain people all year long, but at trials, they are able to pull a little something extra out of their butts.”
“It is hard to balance [more than one sport], because you get home later from practice and then have to study, so it’s tiring.”
HIGH SCHOOL QUOTES
[Competing at the ‘03 IL state meet] “Awesome–like I was floating. When you have that good taper and you hit it just right, you feel like you’re flying.”
NCAA QUOTES
“I became No. 1 in NCAA swimming so I had to put my goals to match the next step up”
2006 WORLD SHORT COURSE CHAMPS
[On swimming both the 50m Back and 50m Fly] “You gotta love the summer club events, the 50s. Just like old times, back when I was swimming on the summer club. The double wasn’t bad. I was really well prepared by the staff. They got me from the warmdown pool to my next race quickly because everything was so organized. It went really smoothly. I was happy with this morning.”
OTHERS ON MATT
“He rose to a higher level, and he’s got the gamesmanship and tenacity” - Coach Lea Maurer after Matt returned from Youth Olympic Festival
We had a conversation about how talented he was, and I told him if he committed himself that summer and [went] to Australia, he’d have his senior year to lead us to [the state title]. He made the commitment. And I knew how much he wanted it for the team. He took ownership of the sport. I remember that vividly.” - Coach Lea Maurer
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