These best motivational quotes for athletes are for those who are at any stage in their pursuit to achieve their fitness or career goals.
You cannot achieve anything great without being motivated. Whether it is your next game, your career, or your fitness goals, these inspirational sports quotes from great people, including athletes, will inspire you to make it big. Live by these quotes, and you will be able to make a huge difference in your achievements.
Share these motivational quotes for athletes with friends and loved ones. You may never know the difference these quotes can make in the lives of others too.
Sports Motivational Quotes
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
It ain’t over ’til it’s over.
Yogi Berra
A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.
Billie Jean King
When I go out there, I have no pity on my brother. I am out there to win.
Joe Frazier
Winners never quit and quitters never win.
Vince Lombardi
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
Muhammad Ali
Inspirational sports quotes
If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?
Joe Namath
You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.
Michael Phelps
Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible.
Frank L. Gaines
Skill is only developed by hours and hours of work.
Usain Bolt
Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
Michael Jordan
The man who has no imagination has no wings.
Muhammad Ali
I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Inspiring Quotations
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
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan
It doesn’t matter what your background is and where you come from, if you have dreams and goals, that’s all that matters.
Serena Williams
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
A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.
Mary Lou
I’ve never aspired to be a leader. I have only focused on doing things that I felt were important.
Ginny Gilder
Champions keep playing until they get it right.
Billie Jean King
I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.
Bruce Jenner
Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.
Bethany Hamilton
Athlete Quotations
Boos don’t block dunks.
Kobe Bryant
I just come do what I’ve got to do, play my game. And I don’t worry if anybody likes it.
David Ortiz
If it is easy, then you are doing it wrong.
Gabby Williams
The most valuable player is the one that makes the most players valuable.
Peyton Manning
Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
Babe Ruth
When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important.
Bill Shoemaker
The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.
Pelé
Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one-yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.
Ross Perot
I think luck falls on not just the brave but also the ones who believe they belong there.
Novak Djokovic
Motivational Quotes for Athletes
You have to do something in your life that is honorable and not cowardly if you are to live in peace with yourself.
Larry Brown
One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.
Knute Rockne
If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.
John Wooden
The five S’s of sports training are stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit.
Ken Doherty
The knowledge that everything good can be taken away at any second is what makes me work so hard.
Ronda Rousey
An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.
Emil Zatopek
Quotes About Motivation
When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.
Terry Bradshaw
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
Tim Notke
Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss.
Doug Williams
Be the hardest working person you can be. That’s how you separate yourself from the competition.
Stephen Curry
It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.
Babe Ruth
Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.
Marv Levy
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
Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.
Bo Jackson
The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.
Les Brown
If you can’t outplay them, outwork them.
Ben Hogan
Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.
Michael Jordan
Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.
William James
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.
Michael Jordan
Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential.
Liane Cardes
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan
Good is not good when better is expected.
Vin Scully
Best Inspirational Quotes for Athletes
It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.
Vince Lombardi
If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.
Mario Andretti
Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.
Mike Singletary
It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.
Evander Holyfield
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.
Tommy Lasorda
Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.
George Halas – Read about the Chicago Bears Franchise.
Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.
Arnold Palmer
Inspiring
You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.
Herb Brooks
Make each day your masterpiece.
John Wooden
If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.
Fred DeVito
How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.
Lou Holtz
Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.
John Wooden
Victory is in having done your best. If you’ve done your best, you’ve won.
Billy Bowerman
There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either IN or you’re OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between.
Pat Riley
A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.
Jack Dempsey
The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.
Steve Young
By Mike O’Halloran
Mike is the founder and editor of Sports Feel Good Stories.
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