Quotes on Swimming

"'Tis suppos'd that every Parent would be glad to have their Children skill'd in Swimming, if it might be learnt in a Place chosen for its Safety, and under the Eye of a careful Person . . . 'Tis some Advantage besides, to be free from the slavish Terrors many of those feel who cannot swim, when they are oblig'd to be on the Water even in crossing a Ferry." ~ Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania [sic] (1749) - Benjamin Franklin

"I shall not need here to mention swimming, when he is of an age able to learn, and has any one to teach him. ’Tis that saves many a man’s life; and the Romans thought it so necessary, that they rank’d it with letters; and it was the common phrase to mark one ill-educated, and good for nothing, that he had neither learnt to read nor to swim: Nec literas didicit nec natare." ~ Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693) – John Locke

"Being your best is not so much about overcoming the barriers other people place in front of you as it is about overcoming the barriers we place in front of ourselves. It has nothing to do with how many times you win or lose. It has no relation to where you finish in a race or whether you break world records. But it does have everything to do with having the vision to dream, the courage to recover from adversity and the determination never to be shifted from your goals."  ~ Kieren Perkins

"For myself, losing is not coming second. It's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I've been in". ~ Ian Thorpe

"I'm really quite exhausted at the moment, but you never know, you are always surprised at what you can find sometimes, and maybe I will find something deep within to find the desire to swim fast". ~ Leisl Jones