If there's a sport that demands the utmost self-belief and inner confidence in yourself, it has to be track and field. In a sport where you and only you can affect your performance, a great deal of responsibility and pressure can weigh on your shoulders. 

Since the beginning of time, thousands upon thousands of men and women have competed in track and field events and experienced the same nerves and emotions that people feel to this very day. 

Here are some quotes from the best to ever do it that hopefully inspire you to reach your full potential as well:

Usain Bolt

“Worrying gets you nowhere. If you turn up worrying about how you’re going to perform, you’ve already lost. Train hard, turn up, run your best and the rest will take care of itself.”

“I don’t think limits.”

“Kill them with success and bury them with a smile.”

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in determination.”

“I know what I can do so it doesn’t bother me what other people think or their opinion on the situation.”

Jesse Owens

"We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort."

"Friendships are born on the field of athletic strife and the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust."

"Find the good. It's all around you. Find it, showcase it and you'll start believing it."

"It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it's close."

On his record-setting long jump: "I decided I wasn't going to come down. I was going to fly. I was going to stay up in the air forever."

Sanya Richards-Ross

“Life can lure us into this fantasy. A fantasy of fear. We look around and begin to fear we aren’t good enough for the right here and right now, so we create illusions in our minds of what we still need to be — when all we need to be is present in this moment, at this time.”

“When you finally realize your gifts and talents, joy and satisfaction come as you walk in your purpose.”

“Failure I can live with. Not trying is what I can’t handle.”

“When we step into the grace of God, we step out of the confinements of time.”

Allyson Felix

"I am a big believer in visualization. I run through my races mentally so that I feel even more prepared.

"I always want to give more than I gave yesterday."

"Before a race, I block out what's going on in the stadium. It's different for everyone. But for me, I've always been able to block it out. For a sprint race, it's important not to get distracted."

"My mom is great and I make sure that we pray together before every race. She helps me put everything in perspective and remind me of the real reason I run."

Carl Lewis

"The trials on the road to world harmony are no greater than the courage of those who accept the challenge."

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

"People have a moral standard about what they will do and will not do. At the end of the day, someone who cheats has a lower moral standard than someone who does not. And they will cheat in other areas of life as well."

"If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win."

Michael Johnson

"Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter: long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best."

"One of the main techniques I used was focusing on the goal and visualizing myself competing in the race before the race started."

"The mind is absolutely instrumental in achieving results, even for athletes. Sports psychology is a very small part, but it's extremely important when you're winning and losing races by hundredths and even thousandths of a second."