Amanda Beard

Over the course of her standout professional swimming career Amanda Beard has established herself as one of the best in the history of the sport.  At age 14 she broke onto the competitive swimming scene with a boom, earning a Gold Medal to go along with two more Silver Medals at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.  Since that time she has gone on to compete in three more Olympic Games and has racked up an impressive medal count, adding another Gold, two more Silvers, and a Bronze Medal to her collection of Olympic glory.

Although she competed as an amateur for the first five years of her competitive swimming career, in 2001 she made the jump to professional status at age 19 and began landing several lucrative sponsorship and endorsement deals from a variety of different companies.  In addition to serving as a brand ambassador she also embarked on a successful modeling career, appearing in worldwide publications like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and Playboy.  

As a vegan, Beard has been active in the PETA campaign that launched during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  In 2012 Beard published her memoir, In the Water They Can't See You Cry, recounting her journey as a competitive swimmer and her struggles and triumphs on her way to the top of the swimming world.