Phelps talks about the mistake

You know by no means I've been the perfect kid, by no means, I've never made a mistake. I've made lots of mistakes, both in and out of the pool.

And I, you know, I've been able to learn from every one of those mistakes, and I've been able to, you know, help people not make the same mistakes that I've made.

Uh, you know, it hasn't been easy going through some of mistakes that I've made, but I think it's made me a stronger person. It made me a better person. And you know like I said, I am always trying to help people never ever go through some of the things that I've gone through with the mistakes that I've made.

People don't make excuses, but some of the best athletes there, the greatest athletes in the world do things when they are uncomfortable. You know, everybody can compete when they're feeling good, happy, excited, rested, but it's the best people who can overcome when they're tired, sore, not in the great mind, you know, not in the best mind set, and I think mental power that the greatest athletes have can push all the pain aside. You know, I said to myself: I am gonna do this, and no one's gonna stop me.

And I think that's the biggest thing, as how strong you can be mentally, cos I think that really shows who the person is, so I think that's one thing that separates the good from the greatest.