400 inspirational quotes to enlighten your life

By Crossmap, blogs.crossmap.com Saturday, June 24, 2023

Inspirational quotes about hard work and success from athletes

Exceptional athletes who intimately understand the meaning of dedication and achieving greatness through their sport.

Discover their words and let them motivate you to achieve your own greatness in life.

“Hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made.” -Gabby Douglas
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Fred Devito
“If you only ever give 90% in training then you will only ever give 90% when it matters.” – Michael Owen
“Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.” -Rocky Balboa
“I may win and I may lose, but I will never be defeated.” -Emmitt Smith
“You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” -Babe Ruth
“I think team first. It allows me to succeed, and it allows my team to succeed.” -Lebron James
“The road to success runs uphill.” -Willie Davis
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a determination.” -Usain Bolt
“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
“If you want to be the best, you have to do the things that other people aren’t willing to do.” -Michael Phelps
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability." – John Wooden
"To be the man, you have to beat the man." – Ric Flair
"Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man." - Pele
"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
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." – Yogi Berra
"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." – Bill Shankly
"Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost." – Martina Navratilova
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog!" – Archie Griffin
"Perhaps the single most important element in mastering the techniques and tactics of racing is experience. But once you have the fundamentals, acquiring the experience is a matter of time." – Greg LeMond
“Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.” – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
“Sometimes you do the hard work and set the table and somebody else eats the meal.” – Brian Burke
“Great moments are born from great opportunities.” – Herb Brooks
“You’ve always been ‘The Great One,’ but tonight you’ve become The Greatest.” – Gary Bettman II
“The day I stop giving is the day I stop receiving. The day I stop learning is the day I stop growing. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
“The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.” – Ernie Banks
“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.” – Pele
“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.” – Knute Rockne
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King
“If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.” – Mario Andretti
“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” – Vince Lombardi
“Victory is in having done your best. If you’ve done your best, you’ve won.” – Billy Bowerman
“The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” – Bobby Knight
“A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.” – Billie Jean King
“What do you do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” – Dean Smith
“I’ve failed over & over & over again in my life & that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
“Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.” – Babe Ruth
“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
“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.”– Emil Zatopek
“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”– Dan Gable