I would encourage you to set really high goals. Set goals that, when you set them, you think they're impossible. But then every day you can work towards them, and anything is possible, so keep working hard and follow your dreams.
I felt so relaxed. It just felt very easy, and that's why it surprised me that I had broken my world record.
I think we have the approach that every race is a sprint. Some races are just longer sprints than others.
It's kind of a loping stroke. It's not the prettiest stroke. But it's what's most efficient for me. And I think I kick a little more than most swimmers do.
When I was six, right before I started swimming, we went to a national competition here in Maryland and watched Michael Phelps swim, and I got to meet him afterwards, and I got his autograph. Fast forward nine years, and I'm at the Olympics with him, and it's like: 'Woah.'
After the 2013 World Championships, I had three goals for the Olympics: to swim 3:56 or better in the 400-meter freestyle, break 8:05 in the 800, and win gold in the 200. I achieved all of those, and soon, it will be time to set some new goals.
