Amanda Beard Quotes

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

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.

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

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

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

The more I added to my schedule, cleaning regimen, or athletic training, the less I felt. My coping mechanism won most people's approval. Adults were unusually impressed. Who doesn't like a kid with a serious work ethic? One of my biggest flaws turned into my best asset. A hard worker. Determined. Unstoppable. Tireless.

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.

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.

I know that I do deserve good things.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.