Dawn Fraser

“I just loved the feeling of being in the water. I loved the feeling of swimming.”

“It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.”

“I never thought of myself as a role model. I was just a girl who loved to swim.”

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”

“I've had a wonderful life. I've been to the top of the world and the bottom of the world.”

“I was a rebel. I did things my own way.”

“Winning is not everything, but the will to win is.”

“The Olympics are a unique inspiration. The motto is 'Citius, Altius, Fortius' - 'Faster, Higher, Stronger.' I think it's a great motto for life as well as for sport.”

“Australians are very provincial in many ways. You are either a Sydney-sider or a Melbournian.”

“You have to be a bit of a larrikin to get anywhere in this world.”