Olympic Swimmer Amanda Beard

Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard has been a dominant force in competitive swimming for over ten years. She first garnered world-wide attention winning gold and silver at the 1996 games, and has broken numerous swimming records during her competitive career.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Amanda continues to race, pursue an education at University of Arizona, and appear as a swimsuit model in Sports Illustrated Magazine.

LoveToKnow Swimsuits is pleased to share our conversation with Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard about her past accomplishments and her plans for the future.

I became involved with swimming when I was just a baby. I started with "Mommy and Me" classes, and then when I was three my parents signed me up for swim lessons.

By the age of four, I loved to swim and joined the local summer league team. I started to compete when I was four, but it was very laid back. I didn't get serious about the sport until I was about twelve years old. Then I joined a club team and started to swim year round.

When I was ten I watched the 1992 Olympics and loved Summer Sanders. She quickly became someone I looked up to and strived to be like. She has since become someone that I am friends with, and has been an inspiration to me my whole life.

Right now it is really hard for me to do that, simply because I have to race against them. I think when I am finished with the sport, I will be able to take a step back and look at these athletes as having been more than just my competitors.

I won two silver and one gold in the 1996 Olympics. I remember thinking, "So what’s the big deal"? I was only fourteen years old and went in with the attitude that it was just another meet. No one around me made a big fuss over it, so that allowed me to be more relaxed going into it, and to just have fun and enjoy the experience.

After 1996, I went through a very difficult time. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best in the world, thinking I had to break records all the time.

It was a very unrealistic way for me to look at my sport. No one is perfect, and no one can win all the time. Once I realized that athletes have their ups and downs it allowed me to take every win and loss in stride, and learn something from it.

I have worn Speedo swimwear as far back as I can remember. I wouldn't even consider racing in anything else. They have proved time and time again that they make the best suit available.

I have to go with Speedo again for fashion swimwear. I have literally millions of Speedo bikinis and every time I model a bikini in a magazine it's always a Speedo suit. They are super cute and fit perfectly!

I got a phone call one day saying that Sports Illustrated was interested in having me in the Swim Suit Edition. No one in their right mind refuses to do something like that! I jumped at the opportunity, and fell in love with how wonderful the photos turned out. It was a great shoot in Puerto Rico, and something I will remember for the rest of my life.

I love sports, and I love Sports Illustrated. It comes to my house every week. To be in a magazine with such a history and reputation is very special to me and I would love to do it again.

I have recently decided to go for 2008 and maybe even 2012. I have fun swimming and enjoy everything that it has brought me. I also love fashion and TV, and I'd like to get more involved in sports commentating and interviewing.

I meet a lot of young swimmers all the time, and I just remind them to have fun and make lots of great memories.

Sports are here for our enjoyment. The times that I have been swimming my fastest have been the times when I am the happiest, and when I'm just carefree and lovin' it!

If you'd like to learn more about Olympic Swimmer Amanda Beard, you can visit her website:

• AmandaBeard.net

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