* 1 Career
o 1.1 1996 Summer Olympic Games
o 1.2 2000-2003
o 1.3 2004 Summer Olympic Games
o 1.4 2008 Summer Olympic Games
o 1.5 2010 USA Swimming Nationals
o 1.6 Modeling and advertising
* 2 Personal life
* 3 Personal bests
* 4 References
* 5 External linksBeard made her first Olympic appearance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games at the age of 14, while still a student at Irvine High School in Irvine, California. She was often photographed clutching her teddy bear, even on the medal stand. Beard became the second-youngest Olympic medalist in American swimming history when she won three medals in Atlanta—one gold and two silverSee also: Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics
At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Beard won a bronze a medal in the 200 m breaststroke.[3]
Beard attended the University of Arizona where she won an individual NCAA Division I championship in 2001. In 2003, she became the world champion and American record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke.
[edit] 2004 Summer Olympic Games
See also: Swimming at the 2004 Summer OlympicsAt the 2004 . Olympic Swim Trials, she qualified to participate in four events at the Athens games and broke the world record in the 200 m breaststroke. She went on to win the gold medal in the 200 m breaststrokeBeard also won silver in both the 200 m individual medley and the 4x100 m medley relay. Her split in the medley would have won her the gold medal in the 100 breaststroke; her split was the fastest out of the eight competing (1:06.32)
At the 2008 US Olympic Swim Trials, Beard finished second in the 200 meter breaststroke event, and she qualified for her fourth consecutive Olympics. On 30 July 2008, at the US swimming team's final training in Singapore, Beard, together with Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin, were elected co-captains of the US Olympic women’s swimming team.
In Beijing, Beard failed to reach the semifinals in the 200 meter breaststroke, placing 18th in the preliminaries.In August, 2010, she came out of retirement to compete at the 2010 Conoco Phillips National Championships. She finished second in the 200 breast finals at 2:26.50, qualifying her for the Pan Pac Team to represent the USA later in the month.
In the 100 breast, Amanda Beard swam a 1:08.72 in prelims and 1:09.12 in finals, finishing
After the US Nationals, Beard and Natalie Coughlin were nominated co-captains of Team USA once again. During the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Amanda Beard signed up for her two signature events, the 100 m and the 200 m breaststroke. Beard qualified for finals in both events, but failed to medal. She was fifth in the 100 breast (1:07.49) and fifth in the 200 breast (
Her modeling work has included appearances in FHM, the 2006 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and the July 2007 issue of Playboy magazine, in which she posed nude.
She is a spokeswoman for Defenders of Wildlife, and enjoys interior decorating. Both of her sisters, Leah and Taryn, are swimmers. Amanda placed eighth in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Celebrity car race in 2006.In November 2007, Beard made her first television commercial for GoDaddy entitled "Shock". It featured her "flashing" the seven Olympic medals she won from 1996–2004. Mark Spitz made a cameo appearance.In April 2008, she joined Fox Network's popular sports talk program, The Best Damn Sports Show Period as a correspondent, covering major sporting events
In 2008, Beard participated in an anti-fur campaign for the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She was photographed nude in front of an American flag. The flag in that photograph is hung incorrectly according the United States Flag Code with the blue field to the upper rightShortly after the PETA campaign was released, accusations of hypocrisy surfaced. Beard had told a fashion blogger the year before that her favorite shoes were leather sandals, and she had stated during an interview with SmartMoney magazine that she would never buy a low-quality jacket
Beard is a vegetarian. She is married to photographer Sacha Brown. On September 15, 2009, Beard gave birth to their first child, a boy named Blaise Ray BrownBeard's personal bests in long-course meters are:* 100 m breaststroke: 1:07.42 Swimming at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships200 m breaststroke: 2:22.44 US Olympic Swimming Trials 2004
* 200 m individual medley: 2:11.70 Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics
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