Quotes from Amanda Beard

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.

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

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

I know that I do deserve good things.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Life is all about balance: sprinting hard and fast, breathing deep and slow. Working out with my coaches, playing with my kids. Eating whole foods for fuel, enjoying a glass of wine with friends.

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.

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

My performance has improved dramatically from yoga and meditation. No athlete ever dominated by sticking to one sport all the time.

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.

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.