Sportspersons are the most resilient and dedicated of our species. They are the warriors of the modern world. From the football fields to the tennis courts and car tracks, the hard work sports quotes, enthusiasm, and fighting spirit they put in to reflect the physical and emotional strength of character one must put in to achieve greatness. The physical strength coupled with the mental ability and strong character are the underlying reasons for a player’s success. Also, the effort, the hard work, and perseverance are what make sportspersons distinctive from everyone else. At the quintessence of commitment to the game, the inspiring personalities and the words of wisdom these athletes convey are the pearls of wisdom for the ones attempting to reach the summit inside or outside the field and court.
Be it team games or individual sports, the players’ dedication and commitment to the game and the will to turn the odds to their advantage is an inspiring spectacle. Success isn’t ready-made; one must dedicate sweat and blood to achieve it. A player falls a hundred times to eventually soar to the greatness he/she deserves. The accounts of the ‘greatest in the game’ educate us invaluable lessons on life and its niceties. To grow into the greatest, one must have to endure the sufferings and distractions before finally reaching the set milestones.
Let us hear what the best in the game talk about the recipes of success in sports, life, and another place. Our favorite picks comprising the 30 most inspirational sports quotes of all time are listed below:
30 Most Inspirational Sports Quotes
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” Pele – the Greatest Soccer Player of all time
“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 – American Basketball legend
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz – American Football Coach
“The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.” Ernie Banks – Baseball Hall of Fame
“I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.” Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner – Olympic Gold Medalist
“It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.” Evander Holyfield – American Boxing Champion
“Victory is in having done your best. If you’ve done your best, you’ve won.” Billy Bowerman – Olympic Track and Field Coach; Co-founder of Nike Inc.
“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.” Emil Zatopek – Long-distance runner, three-time Olympics gold medalist
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” Michael Jordan – Most successful NBA player of all time
“The man who has no imagination has no wings.” Muhammad Ali – The Greatest Boxer and sports personality of the 20th century
“A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.” Billie Jean King – former no. 1 tennis player, 39 Grand Slam Winner
“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” Jerry Rice – One of the most inspiring NFL players, scored the most touchdowns in NFL history
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” Vince Lombardi – NFL player, coach, author, 2-times Super Bowl Champion
“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 – NBA’s GOAT, billionaire, basketball coach
“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 – the most celebrated sports personality of all times
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in determination.” Usain Bolt – the greatest sprinter in the history, 9-times Olympics gold medalist
“If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.” Mario Andretti – World Sportscar Champion
“If destiny throws a stone at you, don’t let it become a millstone. Make it into a milestone.” Sachin Tendulkar Sports Quotes – Cricketing Legend, ‘The God of Cricket.
“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.” Dan Gable – world gold medalist, one of the greatest wrestlers of all time
“Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears.” Laird Hamilton – American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, actor
“Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.” Matt Biondi – American professional swimmer, eleven-time Olympic gold medalist
“The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.” Steve Young – American professional football player
“You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is a real joy.” Arthur Ashe – professional tennis player, three-time Grand Slam winner
“Most talented players don’t always succeed. Some don’t even make the team. It’s more what’s inside.” Brett Favre – one of the most successful players in NFL history
“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.” Arnold Schwarzenegger – world’s most famous bodybuilder, film star, businessman, politician
“You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation.” Homer Rice – American Football Coach
“If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win.” Carl Lewis – Olympic Long Jump champion, nine-time gold medalist, 10-time world champion
“We don’t want to tell our dreams. We want to show them.” Cristiano Ronaldo – considered the best footballer in the world
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.” Michael Phelps – American professional swimmer, the most successful Olympian of all time with 28 gold medals
“Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.” Satchel Paige – professional baseball player, actor, World Series champion