20 Facts About Amanda Beard

Amanda Beard is a former world record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Amanda Beard 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, Amanda Beard made her inaugural Olympic appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, when a student at Irvine High School in Irvine, California.

Amanda Beard was often photographed clutching her teddy bear, even on the medal stand.

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

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

Amanda Beard won an individual NCAA Division I championship in 2001.

At the 2008 US Olympic Swim Trials, Amanda Beard finished second in the 200-meter breaststroke event, and she qualified for her fourth consecutive Olympics.

In Beijing, Amanda Beard failed to reach the semi-finals in the 200-meter breaststroke, placing 18th in the preliminaries.

Amanda Beard finished second in the 200-meter breaststroke finals at 2:26.50, qualifying her for the Pan Pac team to represent the United States later in the month.

Amanda Beard was fifth in the 100-meter breaststroke and fifth in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Amanda Beard failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympic team after finishing 5th in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Olympic swimming trials.

Amanda Beard is a spokeswoman for Defenders of Wildlife, and enjoys interior decorating.

Amanda Beard placed eighth in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Celebrity car race in 2006.

In November 2007, Amanda Beard made her first television commercial for GoDaddy entitled "Shock".

In 2008, Amanda Beard participated in an anti-fur campaign for the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Amanda Beard was photographed semi-nude in front of an American flag.

Amanda 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 leather jacket.

Amanda Beard released an autobiography on April 3,2012, entitled In the Water They Can't See You Cry: A Memoir.

Amanda Beard explains the title's significance as the sensation of putting her face in the water while swimming to hide any tears she shed into her goggles.