OLYMPIANS KIM VANDENBERG AND AMANDA BEARD: BY CAMILLE OGDEN HOPE FLOATS
DANCE PARTIES, OLYMPIC MEDALS AND CHAMPIONING HOPE When Kim Vandenberg was 12, her aunt gave her an unexpected gift: a signed photo of Amanda Beard, the then 14-yearold Olympic gold medalist. Having just watched Beard win gold and two silvers during her Olympic debut in Atlanta, the photo was fun and exciting to the young swimmer. However, it was Beard’s accompanying words of encouragement that stuck with Vandenberg decades later: “Keep it up…” And keep it up she did—all the way to her own collection of championships and medals. 22 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG
Beard would compete in the 2000 and 2004 Games before crossing paths with Vandenberg again. This time under the training of top coach Cyndi Gallagher at UCLA in 2008. “I remember when Cyndi asked how I felt about training with Amanda. I was so excited! She was a three-time Olympian at the time. I learned a lot from her, like how to manage stress and execute details. She became like an older sister to me.” That year, the two swimmers became inseparable. Intense training was balanced with dinners, shopping, and dance
parties—as in full blown dance routines they made up to shake off the intensity and nerves of competitive swimming. Living and breathing the same training experience created a lasting friendship, well before the Games began in Beijing. As friends, teammates, and roommates, Beard and Vandenberg found a way to balance the intensity of the Olympic Games with fun and cheerful patriotism. “We decorated our faces with stickers, jewels, everything was red, white, and blue. We were very patriotic,” Vandenberg recalled with a laugh.
