Amanda Beard

Beard gambled at a young age, devoting herself exclusively to swimming, and it paid off in a successful career. "It's all great, but it's scary, too," her mother, Gayle Beard told Montville. "You have to put your trust in a lot of people, some of whom you really don't know very well."

Even after stumbling in the late 1990s, Beard had earned enough respect within swimming that people were still pulling for her. "No matter how old you are, what size you are, it's the heart that matters," said Staciana Stitts, a 2000 Olympic teammate. "Amanda had a lot of heart in that (trial) race. She really wanted it."