Amanda beard training for rio 2016, Amanda Beard may not have qualified for the 2012 Olympic team, but the 30-year-old swimmer says she's not done swimming yet.
"I'm definitely going to train for the 2016 Olympic Games," Beard told me in mid-June. "I love being around (the sport) and being involved with it, so I would love being able to swim through 2016. I think if I didn't I might have regrets of not seeing how far and how long I can swim for."
You may remember Beard from the 1996 Olympic Games, where she competed and won silver medals in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events and added a gold medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay. There, the 14-year-old appeared on the pool deck with a large teddy bear and a bubbly enthusiasm that stole the hearts of many Americans.
Four years later, Beard returned to the Olympic Games and won a bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke, and in 2004 Beard won her first individual gold medal in the same event. She added silver medals in the 200-meter individual medley and the 4x100 medley relay.
Beard also competed at the 2008 Olympic Games, though she failed to medal, blaming her disappointing performance on a lack of focus.
Beard had hoped to rectify her performance of four years ago by qualifying for her fifth Olympic Games and bringing home a medal from London. Instead, Beard failed to qualify for the 2012 team, finishing fifth at the Olympic trials in the 200 breaststroke. In the 100 breaststroke, Beard failed to qualify for the final heat. Only the top two swimmers in each event qualify for the Olympic team.
Before the trials began, though, Beard said she wouldn't let any outcome stop her from pursuing a bid to the 2016 Olympic Games.
"The way I look at it is, I'm healthy, I am 30, so in the swimming world I guess I am older, but I am young," Beard told me in mid-June. "I still have my health and I'm still absolutely passionate and love the sport."
That alone is enough to keep her going, Beard said, but on top of it all, she can't imagine doing anything else.
"I look at all the other things I could be doing with my life and this just seems like such a fun and easy way. I get to spend so much time with my family and I get to workout," Beard told me. "When you look at it in those ways, it's not difficult to motivate yourself to go to the pool every day."
"I'm definitely going to train for the 2016 Olympic Games," Beard told me in mid-June. "I love being around (the sport) and being involved with it, so I would love being able to swim through 2016. I think if I didn't I might have regrets of not seeing how far and how long I can swim for."
You may remember Beard from the 1996 Olympic Games, where she competed and won silver medals in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events and added a gold medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay. There, the 14-year-old appeared on the pool deck with a large teddy bear and a bubbly enthusiasm that stole the hearts of many Americans.
Four years later, Beard returned to the Olympic Games and won a bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke, and in 2004 Beard won her first individual gold medal in the same event. She added silver medals in the 200-meter individual medley and the 4x100 medley relay.
Beard also competed at the 2008 Olympic Games, though she failed to medal, blaming her disappointing performance on a lack of focus.
Beard had hoped to rectify her performance of four years ago by qualifying for her fifth Olympic Games and bringing home a medal from London. Instead, Beard failed to qualify for the 2012 team, finishing fifth at the Olympic trials in the 200 breaststroke. In the 100 breaststroke, Beard failed to qualify for the final heat. Only the top two swimmers in each event qualify for the Olympic team.
Before the trials began, though, Beard said she wouldn't let any outcome stop her from pursuing a bid to the 2016 Olympic Games.
"The way I look at it is, I'm healthy, I am 30, so in the swimming world I guess I am older, but I am young," Beard told me in mid-June. "I still have my health and I'm still absolutely passionate and love the sport."
That alone is enough to keep her going, Beard said, but on top of it all, she can't imagine doing anything else.
"I look at all the other things I could be doing with my life and this just seems like such a fun and easy way. I get to spend so much time with my family and I get to workout," Beard told me. "When you look at it in those ways, it's not difficult to motivate yourself to go to the pool every day."
