Amanda Beard Biography

Amanda Ray Beard (Irvine, California, October 29, 1981) is an American Olympic swimmer.

Beard made her first Olympic appearance at the 1996 games at the age of 14. She won silver medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststrokes, and a gold in the medley relay. Her childlike manner captured the imagination of the media, and she was often photographed clutching her teddy bear, Harold, who joined her on the medal stand. She won a bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2000 Games. Beard attended the University of Arizona where she captured an individual NCAA National Championship in 2001.

2003 she became the world champion and world record holder for the 200m breaststroke. She made a good showing at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials and competed in the 2004 Olympic Games, where she won gold in the 200-meter breaststroke, her first individual gold medal. She also won silver in the 200-meter individual medley and finished fourth in the 100-meter breaststroke.

Beard won eight U.S. champion titles (3 times both in 200m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke, 2 times in 200m individual medley). She is 1st in world ranking of 200m breaststroke since 2003.

Beard dated South African swimmer Ryk Neethling for nearly six years, but that relationship ended in the Spring of 2005. A NASCAR fan, Beard now dates Nextel Cup Series driver Carl Edwards. She is very popular in her country and is considered a sex symbol by many people. She a spokesperson for Defenders of Wildlife and enjoys interior decorating. Both of her sisters, Leah and Taryn, are swimmers.

With her placement on the 2004 Olympic team in Athens at age 22, Amanda Beard is already a three-time Olympian. She became the second youngest Olympic medalist in American swimming history when at the age of 14 she won two silver medals and one gold medal at the 1996 Games. In 2000, she added a bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke to her Olympic credits. At the Olympic Trials in Long Beach, she broke the world record in that same event. She will be one to watch in Athens. Beard currently resides in Tuscon, Ariz., where she is pursuing a degree in retail and consumer science at the University of Arizona. She turned professional in 2001 and swims with the Tuscon Ford Dealer Aquatics club.

Olympic Games
1996: gold medal, 400-meter medley relay; silver medal, 100-meter breaststroke; silver medal, 200-meter breaststroke
2000: bronze medal, 200-meter breaststroke

World Championships
2003: gold medal, 200-meter breaststroke; silver medal, 100-meter breaststroke; silver medal, 400-meter medley relay

Pan Pacific Championships
2002: gold medal, 100-meter breaststroke; gold medal, 200-meter breaststroke; silver medal, 400-meter medley relay
1995: silver medal, 400-meter medley relay; bronze medal, 100-meter breaststroke; bronze medal, 200-meter breaststroke

Short Course World Championships
2002: silver medal, 400-meter medley relay
2000: silver medal, 400-meter medley relay
1997: gold medal, 400-meter medley relay