Swimming

With seven Olympic medals under her belt, U.S. breaststroke swimmer Amanda Beard is the embodiment of the Olympic dream … a dream she plans to keep alive as she once again heads to the Beijing in August. Her fourth time competing in the Olympics, Beard knows first hand just how much hard work it takes to turn dreams into reality. She was only 14 when she dazzled the world by winning two Silvers and a Gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games, still a teenager when she took Bronze at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and an alluring 22-year-old when she set a new Olympic Record in 2004 and arguably became the American face of the Athens Games. Now an entrepreneur launching her own line of beauty products, an on-air personality for Fox Sports’ “Best Damn Sports Show Ever,” an animal advocate working with non-profit organizations Wild Aid and PETA, she’s always in motion. When not officially “working” she is usually in one way or another supporting her career, whether posing in jaw-dropping photo spreads for Maxim, FHM or Sports Illustrated or speaking publicly around the country. While this non-stop ride would be more distraction than most could handle, Beard is a seasoned veteran who knows how to play the game, explaining that it’s all about priorities and right now that means training for Beijing. “I’m extremely serious and strict when I’m at the pool,” says Beard. “When it comes down to it, if I feel like some work-related thing is taking a toll on my swimming, then I’ll stop that work thing.”

Household name at 14

Born in 1981, Beard grew up in Southern California. As a 10-year-old she watched Summer Sanders’ inspirational performance at the 1992 Games and became determined to experience the Olympics herself.

Nobody would have guessed that she’d achieve her goal with the breaststroke. “I was horrible!” Beard laughs. “My form was so bad that it was actually illegal.” Fortunately, a coach realized that the youngster had talent, and once he showed her the correct way to execute the stroke, she was unstoppable. At 13, she made the U.S. Team, medaled in the Pan Pacific Championships, and took Gold at both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Olympic Festival.

During the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Beard did more than live her Olympic dream: she became an icon. A lithe 14-year-old with a grin that seemed bigger than she was, Beard soaked up the atmosphere, teddy bear in tow. The cameras were drawn to her even before she won Silver in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and Gold as part of the 400m medley relay team. Amanda Beard became a household name, not to mention the second-youngest U.S. swimmer ever to medal at the Olympics.

Underdog at 18

In high school, the swimmer found herself adjusting to a growth spurt. She patiently kept at it, refining her technique and working toward regaining her natural feel for the stroke. Although the media forgot about Amanda Beard, Amanda Beard didn’t forget about the Olympics.

With five U.S. swimmers ranked above her, Beard put in an outstanding performance at the 2000 U.S. Trials to make the Olympic team, but few expected her to stand on the podium at Sydney. She proved the naysayers wrong by capturing a Bronze medal.

New and Improved at 22

When Beard faced the 2004 Olympic Trials as an old pro at age 22, expectations were high; yet the athlete calmly surpassed them as she broke her own World Record in the 200m breaststroke, also winning the 100m breaststroke and finishing second in the 200m individual medley.

Still, at the Athens Games, the media was initially focused on whether phenom Michael Phelps could break Mark Spitz’s record of seven Gold medals in a single Olympics. Phelps had an incredible meet, but gradually the cameras began to turn toward a determined beauty with blue eyes and a wicked breaststroke. Not only did Beard win Gold in the 200m in Olympic record time, and finish second in the 400m medley relay and 200m IM; but in doing so she broke a 12-year-old American record held by none other than her childhood inspiration, Summer Sanders.

When the swimming events were over, cameras continued to follow Beard for color segments during the Olympic broadcasts. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Future is Bright at 26

Because Beard’s story and image appeal to both men and women, she finds herself in constant demand for modeling gigs, feature articles, and guest appearances. While some purists were skeptical about her steamy shots for such magazines as Sports Illustrated (the swimsuit issue, naturally) and FHM (where she was named “World’s Sexiest Athlete”), others applauded her for showing that the healthy appeal of an athletic body might just be the sexiest of all. That feedback encouraged her to confidently pose for a pictorial in the July 2007 issue of Playboy — she even scored that issue's cover.

In addition to her volunteer efforts, which include being featured in a PSA for Wild Aid to spread the word about shark conservation and maintaining the balance in our ocean's ecosystems, and serving as a design consultant for Speedo, Beard – who studied business at the University of Arizona – is an entrepreneur. Not only is she about to launch her own line of beauty products called ‘Mission’, the SPF items being her personal favorites since she’s constantly under the sun’s rays, but Beard is also working to improve her on-camera skills now that she’s gotten a taste of TV (and loves it) as one of the hosts for Fox Sports’ “Best Damn Sports Show Ever.” So there’s no doubt that Amanda Beard’s future is looking mighty bright … maybe even as bright as Gold!