The Class of ’99

She is no longer the same swimmer who flickered across television screens during the 1996 Olympic Games. Older, taller, heavier, Amanda Beard is maturing, trying to get back the form--and the tenths of seconds on the stopwatch--that have slipped away from her.

Beard is now a senior at Irvine High and she likes change and appreciates individuality. She has dyed her hair a dozen times (she preferred the bluish tint over the summer to the fluorescent red streaks that preceded it).

But her humility is constant and her wide eyes are as captivating as ever. You can find her at the Irvine Spectrum or see her goofing off on Main Street in Huntington Beach. Engage her in general conversation, and you would never suspect she is a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke, with one team gold in the 400 medley relay.

But she is.

She set a Southern Section record and tied the national high school record (1 minute 1.79 seconds) in the 100-yard breaststroke in the spring of 1996--during her freshman year--before setting a U.S. record that summer in Atlanta in the 100 meters (1:08.09). The section and U.S. records still stand.

But things have changed.

Sure, she won the 100 breaststroke last year with the fastest time in the Southern Section (1:02.8), but by her own admission, she is not the same swimmer she was in 1996, when she bounced through the water en route to “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

“I really haven’t improved on my breaststroke in two or three years,” said Beard, The Times Orange County swimmer of the year in 1996. “I would really love to do that, and show that I still have it in me. Or at least get close to my time.

“It’s hard to keep swimming when you haven’t done a good time lately, or been off-beat with your swimming. To do a good time in the breast would get me pumped up and motivated for the summer.”

So why is she the one to watch this school year, the class of Orange County’s Class of 1999?

Because Beard has a reason to climb back on top. Because the girl who turned a lot of young kids on to swimming is finally a high school senior, just like they will be someday.

Unlike the last two seasons, when Beard could bask in the glory of her past, she must get refocused on world-class competition in preparation for the 2000 Games in Sydney.

Her coach at Irvine Novaquatics, Dave Salo, is working with Beard to compensate for her changing body. She is no longer rail thin, 5 feet 4 and 104 pounds. Today, she is a 5-8 1/2, 130 pounds, with the type of physiological change that affects a swimmer’s center of gravity, posture, line and balance in the water.

The short course World Cup in Italy is in February, the World University Games are in July. And most importantly, Beard has an opinion.

“It’s important to me,” she says.

She will be 17 next month, but based on her recent performances, some might think she’s washed up, ready to give way to younger, more lithe swimmers who don’t need the greater physical strength Beard must develop to pull herself through the water. She’s competitive enough not to go away so easily.

Beard should be near the top of her game this season. And section records should be in danger. “I really think Amanda is on her way to make those necessary, subtle changes,” said a well-known Olympic and college coach who can’t speak on the record for fear of NCAA rules violations. “There’s no doubt in my mind, with a slightly different body, she can change her technique and it will be ideal.”

Those subtle changes should enhance Beard’s other strengths.

“Amanda has a lot of things that can’t be measured that only great competitors have,” the coach said.

She has a sincerity about her when dealing with the public, an extra gear for the critical moments in races, a predatory nature in the water, and that smile that still lights a room.

“There are cats and there are dogs,” the coach said. “A dog is loyal and will do anything you say but won’t be unbelievably spectacular. A cat is going to stalk the prey and move quickly, with decisiveness, and has a mind of its own. Amanda is a beautiful cat.

“I think you can say that about her in training, competing and maybe in her life. When you’re around her, you have the feeling something spectacular could, and probably is, going to happen.”