To reach the top of your profession, you need to be as strong mentally as you are physically. Some of the most talented athletes in sports history have failed to live up to the hype, whether down to ego or a poor mindset. It is the same with sports betting.
There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance in sport and only the best athletes can talk the talk and walk the walk. Here, we look at 100 of the greatest inspirational sport quotes of all-time.
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“When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important.”– Bill Shoemaker
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“A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.”– Mary Lou Retton
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“The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.”– Ernie Banks
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“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
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“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” – Muhammad Ali
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“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
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“Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.”– Ted Williams
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“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.”– Knute Rockne
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“The five S’s of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit.”– Ken Doherty
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“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.”– Emil Zatopek
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“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back… play for her.”– Mia Hamm
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“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
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“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
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“Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.”– Matt Biondi
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“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.”– Pele
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“Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding.” – Jim Valvano
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“Most talented players don’t always succeed. Some don’t even make the team. It’s more what’s inside.”– Brett Favre
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“One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. ”– Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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“Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.”– Eddie Robinson
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“You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out, but you gotta suit up for them all.”– J. Askenberg
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“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.”– Arnold Palmer
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“The best motivation always comes from within.” – Michael Johnson
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“Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.”– Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” – Vince Lombardi
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“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
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“Make each day your masterpiece.”– John Wooden
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“Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.”– Pat Riley
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“It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.”– Evander Holyfield
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“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
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“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.”– Jack Dempsey
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“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” – Babe Ruth
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“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
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“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth
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“Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan
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“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
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“Number one is just to gain a passion for running. To love the morning, to love the trail, to love the pace on the track. And if some kid gets really good at it, that’s cool too.”– Pat Tyson
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“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
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“I never worry about the problem. I worry about the solution.” – Shaquille O’Neal
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“The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.” – John Madden
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“The secret is to believe in your dreams; in your potential that you can be like your star, keep searching, keep believing and don’t lose faith in yourself.” - Neymar
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“Today, you have 100% of your life left.” – Tom Landry
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“Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” - Mike Singletary
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"Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t." ― Jerry Rice
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“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
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“Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.” – Dean Karnazes
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"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard." ― Tim Notke
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"A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning." ― Pat Riley
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"You can’t win unless you learn how to lose." ― Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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"Each day you must choose, the pain of discipline or the pain of regret." ― Eric Mangini
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"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
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"Good is not good when better is expected." ― Vin Scully
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"If you don't invest very much, then defeat doesn't hurt very much and winning is not very exciting." ― Dick Vermeil
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"Kill them with success and bury them with a smile." ― Usain Bolt
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"As long as we persevere and endure, we can get anything we want." ― Mike Tyson
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"It’s all about the journey, not the outcome." ― Carl Lewis
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"If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough." ― Mario Andretti
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"If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful!" ― Charles Barkley
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"If you only ever give 90% in training then you will only ever give 90% when it matters." ― Michael Owen
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"Life is meant to be a challenge, because challenges are what make you grow." ― Manny Pacquiao
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"I can't relate to lazy people. We don't speak the same language. I don't understand you. I don't want to understand you." ― Kobe Bryant
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"Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost." ― Martina Navratilova
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"Sports do not build character. They reveal it." — Heywood Broun
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"Be the hardest working person you can be. That's how you separate yourself from the competition." ― Stephen Curry
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"The most important thing about winning is believing that you can win no matter who you are playing." ― Lawrence Dallaglio
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“The man who has no imagination has no wings.” – Muhammad Ali
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“Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man.” – Pele
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“Victory is in having done your best. If you’ve done your best, you’ve won.” – Billy Bowerman
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“I never left the field saying I could have done more to get ready and that gives me peace of mind.”– Peyton Manning
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“I don’t plan on being disappointed. We plan on being really good, and obviously, we plan on winning.” – Gregg Troy
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“You might not be able to outthink, out market or outspend your competition, but you can outwork them.” – Lou Holtz
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“I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” – Larry Bird
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“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”– Michael Phelps
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"I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success." ― Lionel Messi
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“The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.”– Wayne Gretzky
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“Some people say I have attitude – maybe I do…but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right there. ” – Venus Williams
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“Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story.” – Casey Stengel
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“If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball.” – Jack Lemmon
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“In the end, the game comes down to one thing: man against man. May the best man win.” ― Sam Huff
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“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” – Tommy Lasorda
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“There are certain basic qualities and characteristics you’ve got to have. Number one: you’ve got to have a will to win.” – Bob Richards
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"Success isn't owned, it's leased. And rent is due every day." - J.J. Watt
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“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan
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“My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.” – Hank Aaron
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“I’ve never lost a game. I just ran out of time.” — Michael Jordan
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“Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.” — Billie Jean King
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“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”— George Steinbrenner
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“Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character.” – Vince Lombardi
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“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” – Mia Hamm
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“Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure.” – Tommy Lasorda
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“I’ve had to learn to fight all my life – got to learn to keep smiling. If you smile things will work out.” – Serena Williams
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“At one point in your life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you don’t.” – Andy Roddick
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“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” – John Wooden
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“When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success.” - Diego Maradona
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“The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.” – Les Brown
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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
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“Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed.” – LeBron James
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“I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.” – Bruce Jenner
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The time when there is no one there to feel sorry for you or to cheer for you is when a player is made.” — Tim Duncan
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“For me to get through the toughest periods in my life, I had to look within to find the energy to do it. I don’t give up. Never have. Never will.” — Jonah Lomu
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“If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.”– Mark Spitz
Which sports quotes are your favourite from our list? With some of the most famous inspirational quotes in sports history on the list, it is certainly a difficult choice.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to John Swart / AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 7th September 2020
