Sports quotes of 2008

The 2008 sporting year in quotes:

OLYMPICS

"With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination" - US swimmer Michael Phelps after winning an unprecedented eight gold medals at a single Games.

"He may be human but he's from a different planet. A different galaxy" - Russian swimmer Alexander Sukhorukov describes what it is like to race against Phelps.

"I'm Lightning Bolt. I'm not Flash Gordon or anybody. My name is Lightning Bolt" - Usain Bolt, after setting a world record in the 200 metres final, one of three records he set in Beijing.

"Now I have lots of work ahead as he is the country's most eligible bachelor" - Babli Bindra, after son Abhinav won the 10 metre air rifle to take India's first ever individual Olympic gold.

"If you want to commit suicide it is up to you, but you do not have the right to kill your country. It is so sad the Athens Games golden girl was caught doping" - Greek Olympic Committee chief Minos Kyriakou after Athens women's 400 metre hurdles champion Fani Halkia failed a drugs test and was sent home.

EURO 2008

"At last we've done it. I'm not sure we're yet conscious of what we've achieved. It's a huge feeling of happiness for all Spanish fans. They deserve it because we were all sick and tired of failing at the quarter-finals" - captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas celebrates Spain's victory in the final.

"I hope to be a big traitor tomorrow. When I'm a traitor, I like to be a very good traitor" - Russia coach Guus Hiddink vows to get the better of his native Netherlands in their quarter-final, saying he will even hum the Russian national anthem. Russia won 3-1.

"This is a match that not only we will not forget but that will haunt us for the rest of our lives" - Croatia coach Slaven Bilic reflects on how his team went out to Turkey on penalties after the Turks scored an equaliser two minutes into stoppage time of extra time.

"We have now given out yellow vests to all our staff who have to work or cross the tracks in Basel, where the Dutch fans are now based" - Swiss railway spokesman Oliver Tamas explains how workers had to ditch their usual orange vests after confused Dutch fans started following them on to the tracks after mistaking the uniform for their traditional orange dress.

"Yesterday I said there was some hair on my pillow. Now I'm hoping my hair will grow back a bit" - Italy coach Roberto Donadoni after his team reached the quarter-finals by beating France.

"Wonders only happen every 30 years or so. If they happened every 14 days then they would not be wonders. 2004 was a wonder and it cannot happen every time" - Greece coach Otto Rehhagel is philosophical about the defending champions' group-stage exit.

TENNIS

"I've created a monster so I know I need to always win every tournament. It's not easy coming out every week trying to win" - Roger Federer after his Australian Open semi-final defeat in a year he lost his number one ranking to Rafael Nadal.

"Almost a perfect season, no?" - French Open and Wimbledon champion Nadal basks in his success.

"I have a wonderful white coat I can wear on the court and also in New York for those rainy days...it's ladylike and goes perfect with my personality" - Wimbledon runner-up Serena Williams after she turned up wearing a coat on a sunny day.

"It's very pleasant to beat Maria...Why? Well, I don't like her outfit" - Alla Kudryavtseva explains what spurred her to a shock victory over Maria Sharapova in Wimbledon's second round.

FOOTBALL

"I know the media all love me. They must care about me because they're always asking me if I'm going to stay or go" - Avram Grant before Chelsea's Champions League final defeat by Manchester United that was his last game in charge.

"I'm not afraid of losing my crown. It would be worse if I continued leading the life I had before" - Diego Maradona, the 1986 World Cup winner and former drug addict, is ready for the challenge after being named Argentina coach.

"Sometimes you have to swallow the unswallowable" - manager Arsene Wenger finds it hard to digest Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final defeat by Liverpool.

"I couldn't have got any fatter, I was running out of clothes" - Brazilian striker Ronaldo bemoans his battle with the bulge after spending most of the year injured.

"So many times I said to myself: 'What an imbecile I have been"' - Italy coach Marcello Lippi regrets quitting the national team after their 2006 World Cup win. He has now returned for a second stint at the helm.

MOTORSPORT

"I was shouting: 'Do I have it, do I have it?' And then they came on when I was at Turn One and they told me and I was ecstatic. It's been a dream" - Lewis Hamilton on crossing the Brazilian Grand Prix finish line as F1 world champion.

"I know how to lose and I know how to win and it is another day of my life from which I am going to learn a lot" - Felipe Massa of Ferrari after being beaten to the title by one point.

"I broke the television, I must tell the truth" - Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo explains how he smashed his TV set in fury when Hamilton won the title.

"I've been doing it for 45 years, I've been extremely careful, I've never got caught" - FIA President Max Mosley speaking about sadomasochism and the sex scandal that hung over the early part of the season.

GOLF

"I'm glad I'm done. I really don't feel like playing any more. It's a bit sore. I'm going to shut it down for a little bit here and see what happens" - world number one Tiger Woods after winning the US Open in June, having defied a torn knee ligament and a double stress fracture of his left tibia.

"I love the idea of the back nine of a major on a Sunday. I love it so much that I'm actually disappointed I'm seven months away from the next major and I don't know what I'm going to do" - Irishman Padraig Harrington, after winning the US PGA Championship in August, his third major victory in six starts.

"My players poured their heart and soul into this for one week. They played great, the crowd was unbelievable and I couldn't be happier" - US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger after his team won the trophy for the first time in nine years with a 16-1/2 points to 11-1/2 victory over Europe in September.

"I've achieved so much more than I thought I could and I'm ready to move on. The motivation was not there any more" - ten-times major winner Annika Sorenstam of Sweden announces her decision in May to quit competitive golf at the end of the year.

ATHLETICS

"I truly believe that the reason I made the awful mistake and a few thereafter was because I didn't love myself enough to tell the truth" - disgraced US sprinter Marion Jones cries during an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey after serving six months in prison for lying about doping.

"I stood at the top of the mountain and heard the cheers from the people. In jail my status is gone. I am just as human as everyone else" - former US Olympic champion Tim Montgomery, once Jones' boyfriend, who was jailed for cheque fraud and on heroin charges in two separate trials this year.

"Back home every time I talk to reporters they say it's been a long time since I won. From now on whenever I do good I'm just going to tell my critics to bury me upside down one day so my critics can kiss my ass" - American shot putter Christian Cantwell after ending a four-year title drought with victory at the world indoor championships in March.

CRICKET

"It has been a fantastic journey. There have been ups and downs in the process of success. It has taken me 19 years to get the record" - India's Sachin Tendulkar celebrates setting the world record for the most test runs.

"Lawson is a useless man. But there is no use in removing him now and we will allow him to complete his contract which will not be renewed" - Pakistan board chairman Ejaz Butt, days before Geoff Lawson was sacked as national coach in October.

CYCLING

"I have decided to race my bicycle again" - seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announces he will return to competitive cycling with Team Astana in January 2009.

"Before 2007 I couldn't possibly imagine I'd win all three major Tours in such a short time. Each victory in each of the big three had its own importance but in any case I'm not going to stop trying to make more wins," Spaniard Alberto Contador after becoming the first rider in 25 years to win all three of cycling's major stage races.

BOXING

"We have a dream and we are going to make it come true, by taking the last belt for the Klitschko family" - Ukrainian boxer Vitali Klitschko in November after he and brother Wladimir, who hold four of the five world heavyweight titles between them, challenged giant Russian Nikolai Valuev to a showdown for his WBA crown.

"I wrap nappies filled with my three-year-old son Max's wee around my fists. Baby wee is good because it's pure, doesn't contain toxins and doesn't smell" - Vitali Klitschko reveals how he stops his fists swelling up.

"I've lived a wild and strange life. I've used drugs, I've had physical altercations with dangerous people, people were angry. I've slept with guys' wives, they wanted to kill me. I'm just happy to be here. It's just a miracle" - heavyweight Mike Tyson talks candidly about his past at the Cannes film festival, where he presented a documentary on his life.

"Sometimes the red mist sets in and I put my foot on the gas but Rome wasn't built in a day" - British light-welterweight world champion Ricky Hatton wins the mixed metaphor of the year title.

OTHER SPORTS

"We just wet the bed. A nice big one too. One of the ones you can't put a towel over. It was terrible" - Kobe Bryant on how the Los Angeles Lakers blew a 20-point, second-half lead and lost to the Boston Celtics 97-91 in Game Four of the NBA Finals.

"It was hot as hell out there. There were no popped tyres. He was just out of gas" - US jockey Kent Desormeaux on the shock defeat of favourite Big Brown in June's Belmont Stakes when the colt came last of nine with Triple Crown hopes dashed.

"It's huge. We don't have to live in anybody's shadow. We're our own team" - MVP Cole Hamels after his Philadelphia Phillies won the baseball world series for the first time in 28 years in October, beating Tampa Bay Rays.

- Reuters