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Most people take long breaks after Olympics. I needed some normalcy back in my life, so I came back to the pool.

Qualifying for the Olympic Games was one of those moments where you just cry because it was like you've climbed Mount Everest.

And in nineteen seventy two I almost wasn't, on the team, but I knew about it just before Olympic Games for three months before this why this is was not very good for me. I'd been ready to go, you know.

It was probably right after I made my comeback - after retiring post-2008 Olympics - when I finally felt more at ease with my body. Being away from the sport helped put things in perspective.

I was fully immersed in the now as an athlete.

I still can't believe I won the Olympics. That's what I feel right now - completely alive as a human being. It's a really beautiful moment.

When I feel like my body is exhausted, I focus on making my fifth Olympic team so I can push through it.

If I break my ankle right now, this Olympics wasn't meant to be.

Every now and then, you'll get one of those days when you're feeling rubbish or when you have to pretty much drag yourself out of bed to get to training. But then you'll see the Olympic pool, and all the excitement and adrenaline will come rushing back.

The time leading up to the 1996 Olympics was the most demanding and stressful of my career. The sport I had loved so much was slowly becoming a nightmare as I trained with Bela and Marta Karolyi the summer before the Olympics.