Amanda Beard

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

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. ”

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. ”

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

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. ”

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

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. ”

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