Amanda Beard

INTRO FITTING FOR A HERO

Amanda Beard is a hero in many ways. Not only has she been admired for her achievements as an Olympic medalist at the age of 14, she is a former world record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke and also named the American Swimmer of the Year twice. Amanda has won a total of twenty-one medals in major international competition: 5 gold,13 silver, and 3 bronze spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the Summer Universiade.

Amanda could be considered a hero for just these athletic achievements alone. But she is also a hero for the bravery and courage it took fighting her personal demons throughout her career. Today she is happily married, a proud mom, and a successful business women. But that came after a long struggle, secretly suffering alone with depression, bulimia, drug abuse and unhealthy relationships. .

TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG

Amanda Beard is 13 years old in this photo taken at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Atlanta, Ga, August 1995. In Amanda's memoir book, authored in 2012; she writes about being homesick -- it was the first time she had been away from home for several weeks on her own -- and eating all her dinners at a nearby T.G.I.F. restaurant.

Amanda also tells in her book, that the beginning of her struggles started when her parents divorced when she was 12. Amanda ended up living with her father in their Irvine, California home. Her two sisters, being older, had moved out already. Although Amanda's family loved each other, they never discussed their feelings. That caused Amanda to hide the intense pain she felt and kept distracted with swimming. This she regrets was not a coping mechanism that ever works.

HAPPILY IT ALL ENDS WELL

It wasn't until she met and fell for photographer, Sacha Brown that she found a nurturing relationship that startled her into a change. As a couple living together, Sacha experienced Amanda's volatility first hand. She was still holding her depression deep within herself and subjected Sacha to frequent fits of emotional outbursts.

The turning point for Amanda was when Sacha confronted her, and encouraged her to seek therapy. It was only then she realized that she needed to take care of the issues that drove her to accept help. In her book, Amanda writes, "We joke that he's my knight in shining armor," she said. "He's the person that saw me for everything I was and was still standing by me and in love with me."

Amanda and Sacha married in 2009. Their son, Blaise, was born in September, 2009. Soon after the birth of their son, Amanda started training to prepare for the next Olympics.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY

Unfortunately, Amanda did not qualify for the 2012 Olympic team after finishing 5th in the 200 meter breaststroke at the Olympic Swimming Trials. She had high hopes that she would make the U.S. team in London, which would have been her fifth games.

In 2012, Amanda, shared her story and through it realizes she was never truly alone in her problems. She learned to talk about her feelings and found the courage to stand up to her demons. She no longer has a need to medicate for depression or puts her body through the physical damages of purging and cutting. After learning her lessons the hard way, Amanda is healthy now in both mind and body. Today, Amanda continues to strive to be an inspirational role model for women of any age.

AMANDA BEARD, ATHLETE, MOTHER, WIFE, HERO, INSPIRATION TO ALL

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Amanda Beard's life

Timeline created by facebooker_1850502305

Timeline view

29th Oct, 1981 Amanda Ray Beard is born. Amanda was raised in Irvine, California to Dan and Gayle Beard. She has two older sisters, Leah and Taryn. When Amanda was growing up, there was a pool down the street from their house on a culdesac. This is where she started her dream.

1st Jun, 1986 Amanda joins the Colony Red Hots summer swim team. At five years old, Amanda began practicing with the Colony Red Hots. She told her father that she wanted to be an Olympian.

1st Jan, 1993 Beard's parents divorce. Amanda and her father come home from a father-daughter bonding trip to the house emptied. Her mother had moved out, and in the months following the couple filed for divorce.

13th May, 1994 Beard joins the Irvine Novaquatics. Amanda becomes a Nova and begins her uprising in competitive swimming. Under the direction of coach Dave Salo, she bumped up her training and was soon practicing and competing with the best swimmers in the nation.

15th Jul, 1996 Amanda Beard becomes the youngest member of the US Olympic swim team. Amanda comes home from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta with two silver medals and a gold. She is the youngest Olympic team member since 1976 and the youngest to hold three medals. She carried her teddy bear on the awards podium with her, which later signified her innocence in such an intense world.

25th Apr, 1997 Beard begins to grow. Amanda grows four inches and gains weight, which is a deadly combination in the athletic world. Her self confidence begins to diminish, and she is led in a downward spiral of destructive behaviour like alcohol/drug abuse, and self-harm.

23rd Jan, 1999 Beard's issues worsen. Amanda feels the pressure of collegiate and national level swimming. The stress of college and her relationship with Neethling causes Amanda to develop several eating disorders.

21st Sep, 1999 Beard meets Ryk Neethling. Amanda goes to the University of Arizona on a swimming scholarship, where she meets Ryk Neethling. The two form a back and forth relationship that ends up being detrimental to Amanda's fragile self image and worsens her self esteem.

23rd May, 2000 Beard goes to her second Olympics Amanda competes in her second Olympics, this time in Sydney, Australia. She takes home the silver in the 200 meter breaststroke, despite all of her body peace issues.

26th Nov, 2004 Neethling and Beard separate. After one too many screaming fights, Amanda finally stands up for herself and demands Ryk leave her life. At the same time, her swimming improves.

20th Jul, 2006 Beard meets photographer Sacha Brown. Amanda meets photographer Sacha Brown while on a photoshoot which was booked to help her self esteem. While on the shoot the two hit it off and began dating shortly after. He greatly improves her self image and demands all of her destructive behaviors stop immediately.

1st May, 2009 Mr. and Mrs. Sacha Brown. Sacha and Amanda tie the knot in a secluded ceremony on the island of Wakatobi.

15th Sep, 2009 Blaise Ray Beard is born. Amanda and Sacha give birth to their first son, Blaise Ray.

21st Mar, 2010 Beard goes back to training. Amanda goes back to training. After a lot of practice, she is stronger than ever. She is training for the Olympic Trials with her alma mater swim team and hopes to go to her fifth Olympic games in London this year at the age of thirty.

2012. Amanda did not qualify for the 2012 Olympic team after finishing 5th in the 200 meter breaststroke at the Olympic Swimming Trials. Publishes her memoir, in the water they can't see you cry.

2013 Pregnant with a second child

Timespan Dates of book:

29th Oct 1981 to 1st Jun, 1986 Exposition. The exposition introduces Amanda Beard and her life. It shows her growing up and her introduction to the world of competitive swimming.

1st Jun, 1986 to 21st Sep, 1999, Rising Action. Amanda's early Olympic and collegiate career signify the rising action along with her relationship with Ryk Neethling because her eating disorders and self image problems arise then.

21st Sep, 1999 to 19th Jul, 2006, Crisis and turning point. This is the turning point in Amanda's life because it is when she is most vulnerable. She begins self destructive behaviors and experiments with many drugs, along with facing depression.

20th Jul, 2006 to 14th Sep, 2010, Falling action. This is the falling action in Amanda's life because her relationship with Sacha begins the reconstruction process of her life.

15th Sep, 2009 to 21st Mar, 2010, Resolution, The resolution of Amanda's life is this because she gets her happily ever after; a beautiful baby boy with her husband and a chance to represent her country in the London 2012 Olympics.

ACHIEVEMENT MEETS TEEN-AGE ANGST

Winning a gold medal in the relay and two silver medals in the breaststroke events in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics would not be enough to overcome Amanda's secret struggle. Amanda hit puberty early after the Atlanta Olympics and sprouted over six inches and adding 30 pounds to her petite frame. Growing would not be a problem for most teen-agers, but devastating for a swimmer. As a result of Amanda's body changes, she became slower in the water. She lost races, generating whispers on pool decks and creating a horrid feeling that she was letting people down.

Amanda's insecurities spiraled downward. As she hated her looks and felt unloveable, she started drinking while in high school. Making the burden heavier, Amanda suffered from a mild case of dyslexia. She was crying daily as her grades dropped to C's and D's. Amanda's struggles continued as she went onto to college where she attended the University of Arizona on an athletic scholarship.

Swimming was the only area in which Amanda rarely staggered. At Arizona, she was an incredible athlete but fell deeper into struggle. College is where her bulimia began. This was the same problem five-time Olympian Dara Torres suffered from; as a college swimmer at Florida. Amanda writes in her book how she once vomited seven times in a single day. She knew it was harming her body, "but the fear wasn't as powerful as the benefits of purging.

ROMANCE - BEGINNINGS, ENDINGS AND A WHOLE LOT OF INBETWEEN

Amanda's first year in college started with a volatile romance with a senior on the Wildcat's swim team, South African, Ryk Neethling. The constant conflict and stress of competition led Amanda from bulimia to anorexia and cutting herself to avoid the pain. As a couple, Amanda writes how they had "loud screaming fights." And how she coped by cutting herself. She writes, "I wasn't trying to kill myself. I was trying to figure out how to live in a bad relationship" In 2001, she went pro and signed a four-year deal with Speedo. That is when things slowly started to look up.

Amanda continued her professional success by going to the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics and winning the gold medal in the 200- meter breaststroke event. This success led to Amanda's star eventually eclipsing Ryk's; something she said he had difficulty accepting. Amanda was not successful in obtaining the approval or attention she longed for from Ryk, and he eventually moved back to South Africa without her. Soon after, Amanda started dating NASCAR driver, Carl Edwards. That ended quickly as well because Edwards became controlling and jealous.

Adrift after Athens, Amanda found herself inspired to continue swimming by NASCAR drivers Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin, who both won auto races themselves in their late 40's. Amanda Beard made her fourth Olympic team in 2008, although she failed to win a medal and finished 18th in Beijing.