Fuel Your Drive: Inspiring Motivational Quotes From Athletes

Seeking that extra push? Delve into a compilation of motivational quotes spanning across the eras of modern sports.

Let the wisdom of athletes inspire and drive you, just as it fueled their journey. Consider this list your personal coach, minus the yelling and spitting – a source of motivation tailored for you.

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Motivational Quotes From Athletes

1. “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” – George Halas

2. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” – Tim Notke

3. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth

4. “The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.” – Les Brown

5. “Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan

6. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

7. “Today, you have 100% of your life left.” – Tom Landry

8. “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan

9. “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” – Vince Lombardi

10. “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

11. Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve ever done before. – Bonnie Blair

12. Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons of life. – Kristi Yamaguchi

13. I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match. – Mia Hamm

14. If you dream and allow yourself to dream, you can do anything. – Clara Hughes

15. The world never puts a price on you higher than the one you put on yourself. – Sonja Henie

16. Without passion, you won’t do something 100 percent. That’s the bottom line. – Apolo Ohno

17. It’s not about winning at the Olympic Games. It’s about trying to win. The motto is faster, higher, stronger, not fastest, highest, strongest. Sometimes it’s the trying that matters. – Bronte Barratt

18. To win, you have to risk loss. – Jean-Claude Killy

19. There is a popular fallacy that falling down is the mark of a poor skater. But the truth is that when one stops falling, he has probably stopped improving. – Dick Button

20. Are you going to stand or are you going to crumble? In the face of everything, stand still. – Gabby Douglas

21. “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

22. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi

23. “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” – Yogi Berra

24. “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” – Vince Lombardi

25. “One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it.” – Knute Rockne

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Success Quotes For Your Career

26. “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” – Bobby Unser

27. “In baseball and in business, there are three types of people. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened.” – Tommy Lasorda

28. “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King

29. “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” – Muhammad Ali

30. “Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.” – Arnold Palmer

31. If you fail to prepare, you’ve prepared to fail. – Mark Spitz

32. Never put an age limit on your dreams. – Dara Torres

33. Passion is a huge prerequisite to winning. It makes you willing to jump through hoops, go through all the ups and downs and everything in between to reach your goal. – Kerri Walsh

34. You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get. – Michael Phelps

35. The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important. – Bob Knight

36. You take a crash, you get back up, and next time you succeed and that’s a great feeling. – Shaun White

37. The things you learn from sports — setting goals, being part of a team, confidence — that’s invaluable. It’s not about trophies and ribbons. It’s about being on time for practice, accepting challenges and being fearful of the elements. – Summer Sanders

38. The first thing is to love your sport. Never do it to please someone else. It has to be yours. – Peggy Fleming

39. Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it lit. – Mary Lou Retton

40. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. – Muhammed Ali

41. “Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while. You do them right all the time. ” – Vince Lombardi

42. “I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me. And the one guy who didn’t vote for me, thank you, too.” – Shaquille O’Neal

43. “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

44. “What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.” – Andre Agassi

45. “A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.” – Mary Lou Retton

46. “Nobody beat Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.” – Vitas Gerulaitis

47. “I never worry about the problem. I worry about the solution.” – Shaquille O’Neal

48. “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful!” – Charles Barkley

49. “I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.” – Tom Landry

50. “You’re never a loser until you quit trying.” – Mike Ditka

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Athletes Words To Ignite Your Passion

51. Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us. – Wilma Rudolph

52. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does — that makes you a winner right there. – Venus William

53. Adversity and perseverance and all these things can shape you. They can give you a value and a self-esteem that is priceless. – Scott Hamilton

54. Failure I can live with. Not trying is what I can’t handle! – Sanya Richards Ross

55. Don’t ever let your memories be bigger than your dreams. – Jim Craig

56. This ability to conquer oneself is no doubt the most precious of all things sports bestows. – Olga Korbut

57. It’s all about the journey, not the outcome. – Carl Lewis

58. We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort. – Jesse Owens

59. The ones who are successful are the ones who really want it. You have to have that inner drive otherwise it’s not going to work out. – Kerri Strug

60. Only the strongest shoulders can carry the hopes of a nation. – Katie Taylor

61. “If a team wants to intimidate you physically and you let them, they’ve won.” – Mia Hamm

62. “It is more difficult to stay on top than to get there.” – Mia Hamm

63. “It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.” – Evander Holyfield

64. “Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.” – Matt Biondi

65. “To give any less than your best is to sacrifice a gift.” – Steve Prefontaine

66. “Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.” – Dean Karnazes

67. “When I race my mind is full of doubts – who will finish second, who will finish third?” – Noureddine Morceli

68. “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

69. “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” – Heywood Broun

70. I didn’t lose the gold. I won the silver. – Michelle Kwan

71. Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn how to win and not run away when you lose. – Nancy Kerrigan

72. To uncover your true potential, you must first find your own limits, and then you have to have the courage to blow past them. – Picabo Street

73. If you think you’re done, you always have at least 40 percent more. – Lauren Crandall

74. I also realize that winning doesn’t always mean getting first place; it means getting the best out of yourself. – Meb Keflezighi

75. It’s really ironic that I won, because that’s not the goal that I had in mind when I went out to skate. – Sarah Hughes

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Athletes Secrets To Perseverance And Success

76. Everybody has a talent, but it’s what you do with that talent to make it great. – Alex Morgan

77. This is my day. This is my purpose. I’m not afraid to win. – Kayla Harrison

78. In the midst of an ordinary training day, I try to remind myself that I am preparing for the extraordinary.” – Shalane Flanagan

79. There’s always a point where you get knocked down. But I draw on what I’ve learned on the track: If you work hard, things will work out. – Lolo Jones

80. Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen and others make it happen –Michael Jorda

81. To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail –Michael Jordan

82. It’s hard to beat a person that never gives up. –Babe Ruth

83.  If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you –Fred Devito 

84. Pain is Temporary, Greatness is forever –Fearless Motivation

85. Play like you’re in first, train like you’re in second. –Unknown

86.. Today i will do what others won’t, so tomorrow i can accomplish what others can’t –Jerry Rice

87. Winners never quit, and quitters never win. –Vince Lombardi

88. If you ever dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologize.-Muhammad Ali

89.  Always Hungry, Never Satisfied- Fearless Motivation

90. I hated every minute of training, but i said suffer now, and live the rest of your life as a champion –Muhammad Ali

91. Never give up, dominate this day, ultimate goal better than yesterday –Fearless Motivation BEAST MODE track

91. I never gave up, even when people told me i’d never make it. Never underestimate the heart of a champion. –Kai Greene 

92. Belief + Work Ethic = Results- Fearless Motivation

93. You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed. You’re not gonna succeed all the time, and i know that. –Lebron James

94. Everyone has the desire to win. But only Champions have the desire to prepare! –Unknown

95. Find your why, then find your HOW. –Fearless Motivation

96. Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them. A desire, a dream, a vision –Muhammad Ali

97. Effort – Nobody can judge that. Because effort is between you and you –Ray Lewis

98. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius

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99. “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan

100. “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford