--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After watching the Athens Paralympics in…" description: "\"After watching the Athens Paralympics in 2004, I looked at the swimmers and thought, that's cool. I want to do that.\" — Ellie Simmonds" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/ellie-simmonds-6734_athens_after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in_2467871.jpg" --- # After watching the Athens Paralympics in 2004, I looked at… ![“After watching the Athens Paralympics in 2004, I looked at the swimmers and thought, that's cool. I want to do that.” quote by Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/ellie-simmonds-6734_athens_after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in_2467871.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/ellie-simmonds-6734_athens_after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in_2467871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/ellie-simmonds-6734_athens_after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in_2467871.jpg) > “After watching the Athens Paralympics in 2004, I looked at the swimmers and thought, that's cool. I want to do that.” [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing Paralympic athletes inspires personal ambition and the pursuit of new challenges. **In simple terms:** Athletes inspire you to try new things. Key Takeaway Use role models to motivate personal goals. Themes inspiration determination sports Mood motivational hopeful Type personal development inspirational When to use this quote - training for a new sport - overcoming disability - setting personal records Key Concepts role modeling personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What barriers might prevent you from trying? - How can you realistically prepare for a new challenge? A Different Perspective May overlook practical constraints like time or resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Athens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athens/) [Olympics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olympics/) [Swimmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swimmers/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [Four Games is incredible. Especially as an nine-year-old watching Athens 2004. To think as a kid then I would not just go to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/four-games-is-incredible-especially-as-an-nine-year-old-watching/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [People aren't familiar with wheelchair sports. The only film crew in Athens for the Paralympics was the documentary crew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zupan/people-aren-t-familiar-with-wheelchair-sports-the-only-film-crew-in/) [Mark Zupan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zupan/) > [I think ninjas are probably quieter than SEALs, but we are better swimmers, and also better with guns and blowing things up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-mcraven/i-think-ninjas-are-probably-quieter-than-seals-but-we-are-better/) [William H. McRaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-mcraven/) > [“I’m coming inside you in three seconds. Pull off if you don’t want a bunch of my swimmers attacking your eggs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-clare/i-m-coming-inside-you-in-three-seconds-pull-off-if-you-don-t-want-a/) [Jessica Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-clare/) > [Ive met people of all abilities and all ages. The groups are split accordingly; advanced groups are made up of swimmers keen on longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gethin-jones/ive-met-people-of-all-abilities-and-all-ages-the-groups-are-split/) [Gethin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gethin-jones/) > [I don't think a swimmer on film works unless you're Australian, because for them, swimmers are like their football players, their basketball players; they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-speedman/i-don-t-think-a-swimmer-on-film-works-unless-you-re-australian/) [Scott Speedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-speedman/) > [Some people are swimmers and they're born to swim. They're like fish in the water. I will definitely say it's someplace that I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-swanson/some-people-are-swimmers-and-they-re-born-to-swim-they-re-like-fish/) [Christine Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-swanson/) > [We are all swimmers in God's mighty sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/we-are-all-swimmers-in-god-s-mighty-sea/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [“Life is a sewer and we are all but swimmers within it. Smart people do the backstroke. (In other words you gotta have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-b-pearl/life-is-a-sewer-and-we-are-all-but-swimmers-within-it-smart-people-do/) Stephen B. Pearl > [I am blessed to have been born in Australia where water sports are loved and swimmers are revered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-gould/i-am-blessed-to-have-been-born-in-australia-where-water-sports-are/) Shane Gould > [I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let the other swimmers think about me, not me about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-beard/i-concentrate-on-preparing-to-swim-my-race-and-let-the-other-swimmers/) [Amanda Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-beard/) > [I'm not a natural ocean person. I married into a family of swimmers, and I've slowly been drawn into the sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-close/i-m-not-a-natural-ocean-person-i-married-into-a-family-of-swimmers/) [Glenn Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-close/) > [The newspapers loved pinup pictures of pretty young swimmers, and as a national champion, I got more than my share of space in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-williams/the-newspapers-loved-pinup-pictures-of-pretty-young-swimmers-and-as-a/) [Esther Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-williams/) > [“Bibliophiles and Swimmers are most Beautiful Creatures in the Universe !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bkjagadish/bibliophiles-and-swimmers-are-most-beautiful-creatures-in-the-universe/) bkjagadish > [“The last swimmers have come in from the beach now and are dressing upstairs; the cars from New York are parked five deep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-last-swimmers-have-come-in-from-the-beach-now-and-are-dressing/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by Ellie Simmonds > [I've always been competitive and determined. It's part of my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-ve-always-been-competitive-and-determined-it-s-part-of-my/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [As an older woman now, I feel the pressure more, I feel all those different aspects, I'm more aware of that. Whereas as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/as-an-older-woman-now-i-feel-the-pressure-more-i-feel-all-those/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [I recently met Michael Phelps. He is my absolute idol. I was totally starstruck. I did manage to get a few words out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-recently-met-michael-phelps-he-is-my-absolute-idol-i-was-totally/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [My plan of going to Tokyo has gone out of the window, but I was able to spend three to four months with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/my-plan-of-going-to-tokyo-has-gone-out-of-the-window-but-i-was-able/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [Our parents were very generous, and they always encouraged us to find something we enjoyed and really get into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/our-parents-were-very-generous-and-they-always-encouraged-us-to-find/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [I love 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-love-come-dine-with-me/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [I think people shouldn't think 'I'm not normal, I've got a disability.' Overcome that, go out there and enjoy your life and achieve something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-think-people-shouldn-t-think-i-m-not-normal-i-ve-got-a-disability/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [Coming into London having the experience of Beijing is really good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/coming-into-london-having-the-experience-of-beijing-is-really-good/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [I don't want to be stuck up. I'm just a normal person. My friends think of me as a normal friend, and I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-don-t-want-to-be-stuck-up-i-m-just-a-normal-person-my-friends-think/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [Sometimes I'll get reminded that I promote Paralympic sport and Paralympics GB. Yes, I have a role but I don't feel like an idol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/sometimes-i-ll-get-reminded-that-i-promote-paralympic-sport-and/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [It drives me forward knowing people are watching me and I have to swim well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/it-drives-me-forward-knowing-people-are-watching-me-and-i-have-to/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [I'm studying psychology at Loughborough and there are so many sportspeople here - you actually see top athletes walking around - but people see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-m-studying-psychology-at-loughborough-and-there-are-so-many/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [I've achieved my dream of getting a Paralympic gold medal and I'm very lucky that I've been to three Games where I've come away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-ve-achieved-my-dream-of-getting-a-paralympic-gold-medal-and-i-m/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [Monday to Fridays I'm practically an athlete every hour of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/monday-to-fridays-i-m-practically-an-athlete-every-hour-of-the-day/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [I'm quite shy at school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-m-quite-shy-at-school/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) [Explore all 98 Ellie Simmonds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) ## More Athens quotes > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [As for Aliki - if you were to stand in the middle of Rome and say the name Sophia Loren, or Paris and say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/as-for-aliki-if-you-were-to-stand-in-the-middle-of-rome-and-say-the/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [Athens, much like Austin, is a difficult music scene. There are so many musicians there that it is hard to get gigs and hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-smith/athens-much-like-austin-is-a-difficult-music-scene-there-are-so-many/) [Corey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-smith/) > [The sophists were as a rule men who had traveled widely and seen different forms of government. Both conventions and local laws in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-sophists-were-as-a-rule-men-who-had-traveled-widely-and-seen/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [You look around the world at geniuses, and they don't appear randomly, they appear in genius clusters. Athens in 50 BC, Florence 1500, Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/you-look-around-the-world-at-geniuses-and-they-don-t-appear-randomly/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Athens will again be the host of the Games in 2004, but there are rumors that they might be switched if the Greeks don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-toomey/athens-will-again-be-the-host-of-the-games-in-2004-but-there-are/) [Bill Toomey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-toomey/) > [“South of Larissa the landscape began to change. Jude watched an irrigation machine like a giant stick insect creeping over a field, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-alkazraji/south-of-larissa-the-landscape-began-to-change-jude-watched-an/) [Paul Alkazraji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-alkazraji/) > [I said it before we arrived in Athens, that we wanted to prove to the world that our bronze medal in Sweden was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-basile/i-said-it-before-we-arrived-in-athens-that-we-wanted-to-prove-to-the/) Gianluca Basile > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [I always look back to my first Olympic medal in 2004 in Athens. I was very new to the sport, and it was my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allyson-felix/i-always-look-back-to-my-first-olympic-medal-in-2004-in-athens-i-was/) [Allyson Felix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allyson-felix/) > [The commonwealth of Athens is become a forest of beasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-commonwealth-of-athens-is-become-a-forest-of-beasts/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Anacharsis coming to Athens, knocked at Solon's door, and told him that he, being a stranger, was come to be his guest, and contract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/anacharsis-coming-to-athens-knocked-at-solon-s-door-and-told-him-that/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [It was appointed by law in Athens, that the obsequies of the citizens who fell in battle should be performed at the public expense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/it-was-appointed-by-law-in-athens-that-the-obsequies-of-the-citizens/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) [Browse all 171 Athens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After watching the Athens Paralympics in 2004, I looked at the swimmers and thought, that's cool. I want to do that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellie Simmonds" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in-2004-i-looked-at-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Athens" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in-2004-i-looked-at-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/ellie-simmonds-6734_athens_after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in_2467871.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/ellie-simmonds-6734_athens_after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in_2467871.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/ellie-simmonds-6734_athens_after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in_2467871.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“After watching the Athens Paralympics in 2004, I looked at the swimmers and thought, that's cool. I want to…” — Ellie Simmonds", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ellie Simmonds", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "After watching the Athens Paralympics in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in-2004-i-looked-at-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/after-watching-the-athens-paralympics-in-2004-i-looked-at-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```