The last time the world looked at Amanda Beard she was winning her first individual Olympic gold medal at the Athens Games.
There's a lot more of the 25-year-old swimmer on view in next month's issue of Playboy, where a topless Beard is on the cover billed as "the world's sexiest athlete nude." Inside, she takes off her clothes in eight pictures certain to create a stir among rivals and young girls who consider her a role model.
Beard is unapologetic about what she calls her latest "outside adventure." After all, she's modeled in men's magazines before, notably a spread in FHM that left little to the imagination.
PHOTO: AP
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I really felt excited and motivated to do it," she said on Thursday, sipping coffee in the sunny backyard of her home in Venice, California.
"I'm kind of used to people not necessarily agreeing with everything that I do and that's totally fine. This doesn't change my personality or who I am. It's just a business decision," she said.
Beard, who previously dated NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, posed in the prime of her career. She's aiming to qualify for her fourth Olympics next year in Beijing, and is the Olympic champion and former world-record holder in the 200m breaststroke.
Beard first came to attention at the 1996 Games, where as a scrawny 14-year-old she toted her teddy bear to the starting blocks and won two silver medals. She medaled at the 2000 Games, too.
"There's a lot of debate about whether it demeans women and female athletes," said Dave Salo, Beard's coach at Trojan Swim Club. "If nothing else, it celebrates the athleticism and takes away from the model-type women."
Beard is aware of the criticism she could get from the mothers of young swimmers and girls, but says those are some of the same people who had her autograph FHM when she was in that magazine.
"I've had so many women approach me and say, `We love seeing a good, healthy body being portrayed as beauty,'" she said.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS