Legendary Wildcat, seven-time Olympic medalist, and NCAA Champion swimmer Amanda Beard was hired as an assistant coach by head coach Augie Busch on June 20, 2023.
Beard, arguably one of the most accomplished athletes in Arizona Athletics history, returned to her alma mater where she was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 2008.
Beard's work, as both a coach and an athlete, has brought the program immense success.
In the 2024-25 season, Beard helped lead Arizona Swim & Dive to multiple finals finishes at both the Big 12 Championships and D1 NCAA Championships. Beard also assisted in overseeing the women's first conference relay gold and conference individual gold since 2013 and the women's team's highest conference finish (2nd) since 2008.
Over the course of her second season as a member of the Arizona coaching staff, Beard guided the Cats to 16 top-ten program record-setting performances in addition to 80% of Arizona's active roster earning at least one personal best.
"This is incredibly exciting and significant for Arizona Swimming & Diving," Busch said at the time of her hiring. "Amanda's legendary athletic career speaks for itself. She is one of the all-time great Wildcats and an all-time great in the sport. I believe she has equal potential in teaching and coaching at this level. We are blessed and thrilled to have her back in Tucson."
During her time as a Wildcat, Beard hauled in an NCAA National Championship in the 200 meter breaststroke, 10 All-America selections, and helped lead a breakthrough 2000 Arizona Women's team to their first ever Pac-10 Championship, among many other accomplishments.
"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to join the University of Arizona Swimming & Diving family," Beard said at the time of her hiring. "It is an honor to be invited back into a program that was home to me and helped me during a very important part of my career. I know the dedication and hard work it takes to achieve success in the pool and I am excited to share my knowledge with the swimmers at Arizona."
Beard, a California native, broke onto the scene at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games where she brought home a gold medal in the 400 meter medley relay and a pair of silver medals in the 200 and 100 meter breaststroke events.
In the years following that breakout performance in Atlanta, Beard established herself as one of the most accomplished women's athletes in the breaststroke in the sport's history. The remainder of her swimming resume includes four more Olympic medals, three World Championships medals, four Short Course Worlds medals, and a pair of Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year awards in 2003 and 2004.
When it was all said and done in the pool, Beard was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2018.
Beard also brings with her to Tucson over 20 years of coaching experience, highlighted by a pair of seasons as a volunteer coach at UCLA, seven years as a technical stroke coach at Beard Swim Co., and three years as a stroke consultant at King Aquatics.
In 2010 Beard co-founded and has since served as the Chief Operation Officer of Beard Swim Co., one of the nation's premier swim schools, in Washington.
Beard is joined in Tucson by her husband Sacha Brown, son Blaise, and daughter Doone.
