Amanda Beard

Amanda Beard

Beard at the 2009 Heart Truth fashion show
Personal information
Full name	Amanda Ray Beard
National team	United States
Born	(1981-10-29) October 29, 1981 (age 35) Newport Beach, California
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	130 lb (59 kg)
Website	AmandaBeard.net
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke, individual medley
Club	Irvine Novaquatics
College team	University of Arizona
Medal record Women's swimming Representing the United States Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta 4×100 m medley 2004 Athens 200 m breaststroke 1996 Atlanta 100 m breaststroke 1996 Atlanta 200 m breaststroke 2004 Athens 200 m medley 2004 Athens 4×100 m medley 2000 Sydney 200 m breaststroke World Championships (LC) 2003 Barcelona 200 m breaststroke 2003 Barcelona 100 m breaststroke 2003 Barcelona 4×100 m medley World Championships (SC) 1997 Gothenburg 4×100 m medley 2002 Moscow 4×100 m medley 2004 Indianapolis 200 m breaststroke 2004 Indianapolis 4×100 m medley Pan Pacific Championships 2002 Yokohama 100 m breaststroke 2002 Yokohama 200 m breaststroke 2002 Yokohama 4×100 m medley 1995 Atlanta 4×100 m medley 1995 Atlanta 100 m breaststroke 1995 Atlanta 200 m breaststroke Summer Universiade 1999 Majorca 100 m breaststroke

Amanda Ray Beard (born October 29, 1981), also known by her married name Amanda Brown, is an American swimmer and a seven-time Olympic medalist (two gold, four silver, one bronze). She is a former world record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke (long course).

Beard's success has earned her the American Swimmer of the Year Award twice. She has won a total of twenty-one medals in major international competition, five gold, thirteen silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the Summer Universiade.

At the age of 14, Beard made her first Olympic appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 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 silver.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Beard won a bronze a medal in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Beard attended the University of Arizona, where she competed for the Arizona Wildcats swimming and diving team. 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.

At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, she qualified to participate in four events at the Athens games and broke the world record in the 200-meter breaststroke. She went on to win the gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke. Beard also won silver in both the 200-meter individual medley and the 4×100-meter medley relay. Her split in the medley relay would have won her the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke (not really, as it was a flying relay start); her split was the fastest out of the eight competing (1:06.32)