Composed in competition at the World Aquatics Championships - Fukuoka 2023, these athletes caught our attention with what they had to say once they stepped out of the pool during day two of swimming.
"That is my best time. But I can do better. I will catch up to the World Record."
- Haiyang Qin (CHN), Gold, Swimming, Men’s 100m Breaststroke
"I'm very emotional right now at this moment because of all the work that me and my team have dealt with in the past year. It was just amazing. And probably, you know, that I have an accident. A motorcycle accident. So to get all the way here and get a medal. I can’t explain. It’s the first medal (for Portugal). It's very important for us. I wasn't expecting this at all. But now I'm super happy, and I just want to enjoy it with my team."
- Diogo Matos Ribeiro (POR), Silver, Swimming, Men’s 50m Butterfly
"I feel very excited, but it is not just because I got the gold, it is because I am competing with a lot of old friends. I really admire them and appreciate them for their company."
- Yufie Zhang (CHN), Gold, Swimming, Women’s 100m Butterfly
"I realised it was a tie when I touched the wall and I saw the second red light on my starting block. It was insane, really insane. Before the race, I thought that we were three people for two medals, but I didn’t imagine we would be three people for the same medal. It’s incredible."
- Nicolò Martinenghi (ITA), Silver, Swimming, Men’s 100m Breaststroke
"I am really happy about that race. I really just wanted to get the gold for ‘Team USA’ tonight and I am so happy that I did that. I think this year I just tried to conserve a little bit more energy in the prelims, and I think I did a great job with that. I was ready to race tonight."
- Kate Douglass (USA), Gold, Swimming, Women’s 200m Individual Medley