Amanda Beard Quotes

#1. I get scared when I approach teachers and tell them that I'll probably be able to attend only half the classes, .. I'm scared that they're going to drop me. In the fall of 2002 I signed up for five classes and had to drop three of them.

Amanda Beard

#2. I don't underestimate the power of mental preparation throughout all of my training. I'm in a much better state of mind about competition.

Amanda Beard

#3. Some people like to focus on other aspects of my life, but first and foremost I am a dedicated and top swimmer.

Amanda Beard

#4. Breaking composure, confidence, and speed in the water makes you lose the race, not the goggles that fell off your head when you dove in.

Amanda Beard

#5. When people say to me, 'You're like the Anna Kournikova who wins,' I definitely take it as a compliment, because she's quite gorgeous.

Amanda Beard

#6. With my sport, I am outside and in the water, which can be really drying and damaging to the skin, so I try to be vigilant about taking good care of it.

Amanda Beard

#7. I protect my skin with sunscreen and am religious about keeping my face moisturized and properly protected all day, so I also use a face lotion with SPF 30.

Amanda Beard

#8. I'm a firm believer in slowing down to improve my state of mind when I'm training, and yoga and meditation have been paramount to my success in this way.

Amanda Beard

#9. I have kids. Unbeknownst to them, they are quick to snap me back to reality when I start feeling the pressure of being an athlete! It's a breath of fresh air to have two people to focus on; their happiness erases all the pressures I have on myself.

Amanda Beard

#10. To look good in the water you have to pick the right swimsuit. I own close to 500.

Amanda Beard

#11. Almost religiously, I step away from everything and close my eyes and breathe deeply for a few moments. It helps solidify my focus and aligns everything in my body to take care of the task at hand - which is winning, of course.

Amanda Beard

#12. My training centered on aerobic development, meaning I'd swim longer with less intensity during the majority of my practices. As I got older, I began more weight training, and my workouts went from long at a lower intensity to shorter and more intense.

Amanda Beard

#13. The swimming community is really conservative. I don't know why, because we're in no clothing whatsoever.

Amanda Beard

#14. I'd go to swim practice, put my face in the water, and I didn't have to talk to anybody. Swimming was like my escape, but it was also like this huge prison because I felt like I had to swim up to people's standards.

Amanda Beard

#15. People wanted to be friends with me for not the right reasons. They'd introduce me to somebody else as the Olympian or the swimmer. I didn't want to stand out. I wanted to blend in.

Amanda Beard

#16. I always tell people, I'm a better swimmer because I'm a mom and a better mom because I'm swimmer.

Amanda Beard

#17. In swimming, everyone calls me grandma, because I'm the oldest there. Then with my friends, I'm the youngest and I'm the baby. It's definitely bizarre.

Amanda Beard

#18. I know that I do deserve good things.

Amanda Beard

#19. Sometimes success is simply being willing to give it your all.

Amanda Beard

#20. Obviously, the competitor in you, you want to be in the top three every time in the pool.

Amanda Beard

#21. Malfunctions are inevitable. It's important to push through them during practice - versus stopping to fix and restart - so that you're prepared for one mid-competition.

Amanda Beard

#22. I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let the other swimmers think about me, not me about them.

Amanda Beard

#23. Like anyone, I stress and get hard on myself from time to time, but it's minute compared to the pressure I used to put on myself to perform and succeed. To my kids' credit, they've probably helped me the most here: I'm more worried about what they're doing than what I'm doing!

Amanda Beard

#24. If you want me to swim fast, you have to let me enjoy my life.

Amanda Beard

#25. When people say that kids change your life, it's no small feat what they do. I've stressed about competition my whole life, but the minute I held my son Blaise in my arms for the first time, those stresses diminished.

Amanda Beard