“A lot of people put pressure on me, but I don't think I feel that type of pressure. It is more of a good thing that people are trying to do that.”

“Before competition, I start to question things. I don't know why it happens, but you've got to control it so you don't get too far out of the race.”

“Biceps for show, triceps for go.”

“Ever since I did that 57.9 last year, the Americans have been analysing me in detail. You can see on the swimming web pages. They are breaking it down in every detail. How many strokes I take. How quick I am in and out of the wall.”

“Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to set a time that nobody can touch for many years.”

“Every day I try to push the boundaries, and it's paid off.”

“For 100 m., you have to go out fast but also bring it back, so we've been doing a lot of work on the back-end speed.”

“For the last seven years, I have been racing the best in the world and making my way through the ranks. I am in that spot where I have got a real opportunity to produce something. I am not going to take it for granted because I know those guys will step it up.”

“Grime reminds me that swimming is very gladiatorial.”

“I am only this successful because I'm so good at grounding myself.”

“I believe I can get faster because I have trained for it, and I'm doing faster times I've ever done in training.”

“I believe in that gladiatorial mind-set. I love it.”

“I don't think I'm a good dancer.”

“I enjoy racing because I want to do it. No one's forcing me.”

“I like Jaykae. He's a great artist, and I absolutely love Dr. Dre's album and a bit of Calvin Harris now and then.”

“I like the dark undertow of grime, and it gets me aggressive. You need that aggression.”

“I love tuning into Radio 1 on a Friday night after training and hearing the new stuff.”

“I still like to sit in a room and play games all day, so I'm a kid, really.”

“I think the rest of the world has a very wide, very slow kick. It's very simple, breaststroke. People think it's highly technical. But the more narrow, more effective and quicker you can execute it, the faster you are going to go. There's less drag, basically.”

“I was so scared of the water when I was little. I used to grab onto Mum's hand to get out of the pool. I did not even want to shower.”

“I'm going into my first Olympics, whereas people I'm racing against are going into their third and fourth and probably last Olympics. So there's more pressure on them to perform. I've still got a whole future ahead of me. I am not even the Olympic champ.”

“I'm into my grime, hip-hop, dance, and house music.”

“I'm not a cheater, but if I win Olympic gold and people are looking at me and saying I am a cheat because I've won, it's hugely disrespectful given the hard work I've put in.”

“In sport, a massive amount is to do with genetics.”

“It's great to see that kind of support online. For people to be messaging myself, my nan and the rest of my family, all the support has been great.”

“I've become the hunted. I'm enjoying that. It's better to be the hunted than the hunter.”

“I've been going to the same barber the last few years, and we have great chats whenever I'm in the chair. He'll ask: 'How you doing? How's the training going?' Just ordinary, obvious things, but then, like you do with your barber, you start talking about personal stuff.”

“I've made sure I am working hard enough to get that lead and keep it there.”

“Just because I have two world records, everyone assumes that means automatically it is two guaranteed gold medals, but it isn't like that, and anything can happen in a race.”

“Mum tries to make every race that she can.”

“My coach and I thought I could swim a 57.3 if I executed the perfect race, but I did even better than that.”

“My family are massive fans of 'I'm A Celeb,' so that would be pretty cool. There's so many areas where you can go in and enjoy, but I just like meeting new people.”

“Not a lot of people get to go to the Olympics - especially with the chance I've got.”

“Nothing means more to me than racing for my country, the Queen, the Royal Family, and the people back home that support me.”

“Olympic champions should be 100 per cent athletes who have made the sacrifices.”

“People make the mistake of thinking they've got to perform just because someone has said something about their potential.”

“Seeing that flag means so much: I am inspired by my Queen, my country.”

“Sometimes I still go round the house making weird noises and stuff, so in that aspect, I haven't grown up!”

“Swimming and all other sports have got to get to that place where you have the trust of the people watching it.”

“The more you believe in yourself, the faster you're going to get.”

“The roar of the crowd when you come out for a final is like nothing else: when 15,000 people are cheering you, a lot of adrenaline goes right through you.”

“There is a very thin line between confidence and arrogance.”

“There is enough going on in Olympic year without having to do my own cooking and washing.”

“This medal goes to show that you don't always have to have the best facilities, the best organisation, the best of everything to achieve.”

“To win Olympic gold has been a dream for me for seven or eight years now, so it was amazing to actually achieve that.”

“Training is my drug. I'm going to be the best I can in and out of the water - train right, eat right - and that is the way it should be.”

“What's the worst that could happen? You're going to come second or lose? It's not like someone has got a gun to your head.”

“When I represent Team GB, I never give less than 100 per cent. It is an absolute honour.”

“When you take the world record, a lot of people are going to go out there to get you, really. I kind of enjoy that. I like being chased.”

“You can easily say, 'I can go 56', but how are you going to do that?”

“You don't want people thinking you're a cheat just because you're really fast and have broken the world record by a second.”

“Your barber always knows everything that goes on in the town, doesn't he?”